10056166Machine Learning and AI Plugin Empowering Small Businesses to Champion Social MobilityClosedGrant for R&DInnovate UK**This innovation is about levelling up and proving it. It's about taking the intangible activities of human interactions and converting them into cold hard £ signs. We are going to prove the social value created by any form of mentoring.** The UK Government, led by the Social Mobility Commission, are taking an exciting new approach to levelling-up society. 'Social mobility' is how circumstances of birth should not determine outcomes in life. Previous approaches to social mobility have focused on going from 'the bottom to the top for a select few from disadvantaged backgrounds'. The new approach is to help 'many people make smaller progressions. To do this we need to harness the incredible power of small businesses that make up such an important part of our economy. But how do you support already busy business owners to champion change? Wowment have developed a technology platform that connects corporate mentors with the beneficiaries of charities in life-changing mentoring partnerships. This is a cost and time-effective way for any business to make a difference within their community. These mentoring relationships are proven to help increase the employability prospects of the mentees and equip the mentors with the skills and mindset to be more inclusive. Through this innovation the Wowment team will develop machine learning and AI algorithm, to harness their deep industry experience and the data collated on Wowment app. This will be used to quantify the previously intangible impact of mentoring. The platform will measure and report the social mobility impact of each individual user supporting someone from a less fortunate background. Armed with this evidence companies will be able to win more business, retain better staff and gain more customers. Wowment will be turning mentoring from a 'nice to do' into an essential commercial activity. Wowment are on a mission to create a nationwide culture of mentoring that drives more equality, and this innovation will be a gamechanger