Three deep tech innovators set to tackle international industrial trade challenges with Digital Catapult

To improve UK industrial supply chain resilience through the application of deep tech solutions, Digital Catapult has announced the second cohort of the International Supply Chain Accelerator, set to digitally transform global trade through the application of deep tech solutions. Following the successful first year - which saw the solutions developed contribute to 10-20% expected cost savings and up to 30% expected productivity increase across six challenges – the accelerator this year will help address some of the challenges in modernising trade process, with two industry challenges sponsored by the International Chamber of Commerce UK (ICC UK) alongside the International Centre for Digital Trade and Innovation (iC4DTI) and Leonardo UK.

Two companies have been chosen to receive up to £100,000 in funding to develop MVP solutions to address the challenge with the ICC UK and the iC4DTI which will look at automating the extraction and communication of data, creating seamless data flows between businesses, government, ports, banks, and international partners.

The second challenge with Leonardo UK, where one startup receive up to £150,000 in funding, will looks at addressing trade challenges in an increasingly complex defence supply chain, where digitising international trade processes could help modernise and increase the reliability and efficiency of compliance processes.

This iteration of the accelerator takes forward the Seamless Trade Across Borders initiative which supports the eTrade documents bill which aims to modernise trade by giving electronic documents the same legal recognition as paper ones. This bill allows for the electronic possession of documents like bills of lading, ensuring they can be transferred and controlled digitally, which is crucial for international trade.

International trade remains heavily dependent on paper-based processes and fragmented digital systems, creating significant barriers to efficient trade. Despite advances in digital technology, the global trade ecosystem has been slow to modernise, leaving businesses to deal with complex, time-consuming, and error-prone processes.

Working with the ICC UK and the iC4DTI, LogChain, a Stockport based supply chain tech company, provides secure infrastructure for the creation, exchange, and legal recognition of digital trade data and documents.  Through the International Supply Chain Accelerator, LogChain will develop Prometheus, an intelligent automation system that combines machine learning (ML), language modelling, and automation, to illuminate complex trade networks, transforming fragmented, manual workflows into connected, trusted data flows.

London based Boex will also work alongside the ICC UK and the iC4DTI with its workflow solution that serves exporters, importers, freight forwarders, and financial institutions seeking a faster, more reliable way to trade by enabling the digitisation of legally binding trade instruments, such as invoices, contracts, and Bills of Exchange, into instant, auditable, and enforceable digital agreements.

Addressing Leonardo UK’s challenge, Parkway Logic Ltd will work closely with the defence prime to test and validate a digital trade compliance solution in a sandbox or trial deployment environment. Parkway Logic’s solution, Exabler, combines machine learning models trained on proprietary trade data with intelligent document processing that validates compliance requirements and identifies risks at the consignment and line-item level automatically. The goal is to explore how a solution can effectively integrate into Leonardo’s systems, support import/export compliance, improve reporting capabilities, and demonstrate the feasibility of future deployment.

The accelerator programme launches as international supply chains face significant challenges as tariffs and trade deals dominate the news narrative and the resilience of global supply chains is being tested on an almost daily basis. Digital Catapult will work with participants as they develop their solutions, accelerating the practical application of deep technology solutions to improve global supply chains, and enabling the participating deep tech companies to scale.

Building on the success of the Digital Supply Chain Hub, developed by Digital Catapult and funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the programme has helped over 53 startups and SMEs to secure more than £6 million in funding so far. The International Supply Chain Accelerator will maintain this momentum, enabling participating technology pioneers to scale faster, and strengthening supply chains across international trade and defence. 

About LogChain 

LogChain is a UK-owned TradeTech company driving the digital transformation of global trade, logistics, and supply chains. Building on its leadership in the UK Government’s Trade Digitalisation Pilots, and the world’s first fully digitalised shipment, LogChain provides the secure infrastructure for the creation, exchange, and legal recognition of digital trade data and documents. 

Through the International Supply Chain Accelerator, LogChain will develop Prometheus, an intelligent automation system designed to be the bringer of knowledge and technology to the modern-day heroes of trade. Prometheus uses Enhanced Intelligence (EI), combining machine learning, language modelling, and automation, to illuminate complex trade networks, transforming fragmented, manual workflows into connected, trusted data flows. 

Rather than replacing human capability, Prometheus amplifies it. It empowers enterprises, customs agents, financiers, and logistics professionals with transparent, verifiable information in real time, reducing cost, delay, and risk while building confidence across global supply chains. 

Working with the International Chamber of Commerce and Digital Catapult, LogChain Prometheus will demonstrate how intelligent automation can deliver legally recognised, efficient, secure, and interoperable trade. The project will show that by bringing knowledge and technology to those who move the world’s goods, we can make global trade faster, fairer, and more resilient for everyone. 

About Boex

Boex is a UK-based digital trade platform transforming how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) buy, sell, and settle goods across borders. Built on the foundations of the UK Electronic Trade Documents Act (ETDA) 2023 and the Bills of Exchange Act 1882, Boex digitises legally binding trade instruments, such as invoices, contracts, and Bills of Exchange, turning slow, quasi digital email based and paper-based transactions into instant, auditable, and enforceable digital agreements. During the programme Boex will be working to deliver closer integration with company enterprise systems and government systems as part of the drive to remove friction in the international trading process.  

At its core, Boex simplifies trade by replacing the traditional back-and-forth of emails, PDFs, and manual signatures with a single, automated digital workflow. Businesses can issue, accept, and settle trade documents in minutes, reducing errors, saving time, and cutting costs by up to 30%. The platform integrates seamlessly with select accounting and logistics systems, giving users visibility from order to payment while maintaining full legal certainty.  

Headquartered in London, Boex serves exporters, importers, freight forwarders, and financial institutions seeking a faster, more reliable way to trade. Supported by technology partners like Endava PLC (NYSE: DAVA) and aligned with global frameworks such as UNCITRAL’s MLETR (2017), Boex is helping modernise UK and international commerce—making digital trade simple, secure, and legally recognised worldwide. 

About Parkway Logic Limited (Exabler)

Every day, manufacturers lose time and money to trade compliance delays. Manual processing of shipment documentation - commercial invoices, certificates, packing lists - creates bottlenecks that ripple through supply chains. A single missed requirement can halt operations for days. For multinational enterprises with complex supplier networks, these challenges multiply at every border crossing.  

Parkway Logic Ltd is a UK technology company eliminating these bottlenecks. Its cloud-native platform, Exabler, already serves global freight forwarders, UK-listed companies, and multinational manufacturers across more than 70 countries. It combines machine learning models trained on proprietary trade data with intelligent document processing that validates compliance requirements and identifies risks at the consignment and line-item level automatically.  

What once took hours now takes minutes. Its platform extracts structured data from trade documents, validates it against regulatory requirements and master data, then flags issues like missing licenses or incorrect classifications before customs filing. The result: consolidated real-time visibility across compliance, indirect tax, import-export, and finance teams.  

Through this programme, Parkway Logic Ltd is proving its deployment model works at enterprise scale - integrating with existing ERP, logistics, and customs systems in demanding manufacturing environments. The outcome will establish a replicable framework for rapid deployment where security, accuracy, and auditability are non-negotiable.  

If trade compliance bottlenecks are costing your business time, money, or competitive advantage, let's talk.