Prova client and investee company, We Are Digital (WaD), is celebrating after a £1.5m investment in the business was finalised recently. WaD, which provides digital and financial inclusion support services for public and private sector, will use the funds to expand its operations in the Midlands, providing scale to its mission to upskill vulnerable people with limited technological skills.
For almost five years, Prova has worked with the management team at WaD to support its positioning in the market, first driving the rebrand from Silver Training and latterly delivering comprehensive creative, communications, tender and marketing consultancy. What makes the relationship unique, however, is Prova’s seat on the We Are Digital board and financial investment in the business.
We Are Digital is one of several companies within Prova’s unique investment portfolio, which also includes pipe pulling company Kobus, carbon wheel innovator Dymag and Caption Data.
A firm believer in championing its clients’ causes, Prova is one of very few PR agencies in the UK to sit on client company boards and take a financial stake in their future success. Indeed, Prova has been doing entrepreneurial deals with start-ups and SMEs, including taking equity in place of payment, for almost a decade, making it one of the first agencies to operate this innovative business model.
Richard Postins, owner and founder at Warwick-based Prova, comments: “We are passionate about our core sectors of transport, technology and environment –and we put our money where our mouth is. We want to be an integral part of our client teams, invested in their success and helping to drive their growth. The future of the UK economy lies in today’s start-ups, and we feel that every business should have access to the funding they need to benefit from exceptional professional services expertise; that includes PR and marketing.”
Alongside its own investment portfolio, Prova is working alongside several financiers, legal advisers and engineering partners to set up a brand new fund to help cleantech and sustainability start-ups access the funds they need to accelerate the commercialisation of their ideas.
For more information on Prova Investments or to register for updates on the new cleantech fund, contact richardp@provapr.co.uk.
For more information about WaD’s history click here