Social enterprise start-up uses 3D printing to transform orthotics care
It's definitely a good sign when Sir Richard Branson recognises the potential of your start-up, which is exactly what happened to the 2015 NatWest SE100 Trailblazing Newcomer, Andiamo.
The team at UK-based social enterprise Andiamo has a lot to live up to in 2016 after achieving so much in the past twelve months.
The company, which was founded by Naveed and Samiya Parvez, uses 3D scanning and printing technologies to measure and produce orthoses – or braces – in just 24 hours. Patients who benefit from orthoses may have a condition such as spina bifida or cerebral palsy, or have experienced a spinal cord injury or stroke.
The Parvez’ set about their mission to ensure ‘no person anywhere in the world should have to wait more than a week for their medical device’, after spending years battling with distressing and inefficient orthosis services on behalf of their son. In 2015, Andiamo was named the NatWest SE100 Trailblazing Newcomer and was selected as a Grand Prize Winner at the 2015 Talent Unleashed Awards. As part of the prize the Andiamo team were invited to Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island for the uniting change leadership gathering, which is attended by some of the world’s leading philanthropists and entrepreneurs.
To find out why BBC's business and economics correspondent Simon Jack found the organisation's achievements truly "mind boggling", watch the short film above.
