A data recovery app designed by a Bermondsey resident in his bedroom and an online sexual health service were among this year’s winners of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise.
Aidan Fitzpatrick founded technology company Reincubate after building a file recovery app for his damaged phone in his bedroom in 2008.
For the second year running, Reincubate iPhone Backup Extractor, which was the world’s first consumer tool for accessing iPhone data, has won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise.
Speaking to the News, Aidan, 36, said: “We essentially help people get access to data that might otherwise be difficult to get.
“It’s usually people who have lost or broken their phone and want to get their data back.
“I built the first version of the product in my bedroom in 2008; I had lost my data so I wrote a script to get my data back and I put the script online and found a lot of people were downloading it.”
Online sexual and reproductive health provider SH:24 also received The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation this year.
The not-for-profit service, commissioned by the Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trusts, makes it easier for people to get tested for the four most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Free test kits, information and advice are provided 24 hours a day and the service is quick, discreet and completely confidential.
Managing director of SH:24 Gillian Holdsworth said: “We are honoured to be receiving recognition in such high places.
“Regular testing is an important part of enjoying a worry-free sex life and looking after your sexual health should be as natural as taking care of any other aspect of your body.
“We launched SH:24 in Lambeth and Southwark in 2015 (with the support of the Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity) in order to address sexual and reproductive health need in an area with insufficient capacity – but also to meet the growing demand for easy, hassle-free STI testing with clinical support.”
The Queen’s Award for Enterprise is granted to British businesses for outstanding achievement in one of four categories: international trade, innovation, sustainable development and promoting opportunity (through social mobility).
They are the highest official UK awards for British businesses.
Winners of the award will meet the Queen and members of the Royal Family at a reception at Buckingham Palace later in the year.