Finlay Thorburn pitched his Buffalo Adventures business idea at the event which gives budding entrepreneurs a five-minute opportunity to pitch their ideas to a panel of potential investors.

This year’s event was held at MediaCityUK in Salford, where Product Design BSc(Hons) student Finlay successfully pitched his idea for a socially responsible travel operator – Buffalo Adventures – which facilitates adventure travel, work experience and positive social impact for young independent travellers. Finlay started the business while living in Africa in response to difficulties he experienced while travelling the continent.

Finlay, who was a runner-up in the recent Santander University of Brighton Ideas Competition, was successful in gaining £1,000 to invest in his idea from ANS Group, Marketing Signals UK, Wakelet and Web Applications UK.

Finlay said: “I am absolutely delighted with the result. It has been a tricky time balancing this with my final year at university, so experiencing some positive feedback is so motivating. I’d like to give a massive thanks to the BeePurple team for their ongoing support, University Alliance for the opportunity and of course, the investors from both competitions whose contribution is fundamental to kick-starting the business.”

Find out more about Buffalo Adventures.