A Hampshire business delivering wireless internet solutions is the first to benefit from a government funded scheme to support economic growth and job creation across the region.
EMS Ltd, based in Liphook on the Hampshire-Surrey border, has successfully secured a £200,000 expansion loan from the Enterprise M3 Funding Escalator, which will enable it to create 10 new jobs. EMS has developed i-MO (Mobile Office) Optibond, a router and associated management software that provides businesses with an alternative to fixed wire connectivity. In the UK this is most relevant for sectors where temporary or remote locations are common, such as construction, marine, broadcasting and mobile public and health services. For international markets it offers a solution where fixed line infrastructure is poor or prohibitively expensive.
EMS founder and CEO, Andrew Lambert, explains: “In the construction industry, it takes on average 3 months for internet connectivity to be provisioned at a new site. With i-MO we can achieve a fully networked site, enabling connection with other sites as well as fixed offices, in just 48 hours and at a considerably reduced cost. This funding will now allow us to roll-out our proprietary technologies across additional sectors within the UK and, significantly, to increase our presence in global locations where there is an evident and growing market for our product.”
Much of EMS’s expansion will now focus on Eastern Europe and South East Asia, where a lack of fixed wire infrastructure means that this rapidly increasing market is expected to grow from its current $8.5bn to $20bn by 2018. Furthermore, traffic from mobile devices is set to overtake traffic from wired devices in the next three years and it is anticipated that by 2018, 65%-75% of this will be from these regions.
James Edwards, Senior Fund Manager at The FSE Group, which manages the funding escalator on behalf of Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) comments: “Andrew is leading a strong team with extensive technical and industry knowledge who have developed a product that stands out from its competitors, none of which offer a like-for-like solution. There is now an opportunity for EMS to achieve substantial growth in current market conditions and we are excited to support them in realising this prospect.” The Enterprise M3 Funding Escalator is a £5.5m initiative funded by Enterprise M3 LEP. The escalator, which includes an expansion loan scheme and a growth equity fund, provides eligible companies with loans and equity funding between £50,000 and £200,000 for activities that will deliver high-growth and employment opportunities.
For more information about the Enterprise M3 Funding Escalator please visit: https://www.thefsegroup.com/enterprise-m3-funding-escalator or contact James Edwards james.edwards@thefsegroup.com tel: 01276 608531.
