The Oxford Seed Fund (OSF) is a student-led seed fund and an initiative of Said Business School’s Entrepreneurship Centre.
2020 has brought unprecedented challenges for communities around the world, and the Oxford Seed Fund (OSF) recognises the heightened importance of entrepreneurship in overcoming them. Each year the fund provides capital to the University of Oxford’s most promising start-ups as well as being an educational opportunity for students in running an early stage fund from sourcing through to the investment decision. Of the hundreds of start-up applications the team reviewed, OSF is excited to announce this year’s start-up investments are Hutano Diagnostics and DocuVision, Inc.
‘Both companies are doing important work in the global health and AI space respectively,’ comments OSF Managing Director, Tom McQuillen, ‘we are thrilled to support these two start-ups during this pivotal point in their growth journey.’
The OSF team spent time getting to know Atherton Mutombwera, Founder of Hutano, and Rama Veeraragoo, Founder of DocuVision, Inc., in order to better understand their plans and visions for their companies.
Hutano Diagnostics is developing novel chemistry that allows small molecules to be used on Lateral Flow Devices to diagnose diseases such as Ebola and COVID-19. ‘Now, more than ever, we see the need for reliable, consistent, self-administered rapid-diagnostic testing,’ added McQuillen, ‘and we think that Hutano’s platform will be critical in detecting, treating and containing threats such as Covid-19 and Ebola. OSF is excited to be on the journey with Hutano and can’t wait to roll-up our sleeves and help out.’