AN Exmoor school governor and businesswoman has been shortlisted in a nationwide competition to identify the country's most promising female entrepreneurs and business leaders.

Donna Lyndsay, an Exmoor Federation School Governor and commercial director of air quality monitoring start up EarthSense, is in the running for a £50,000 grant if she wins.

With women in the UK half as likely to start a new business as male counterparts, or indeed seek external sources of funding, Innovate UK’s 2016 infocus awards will seek to redress this imbalance. Celebrating, supporting and enabling women in innovation the winning candidate will receive a package of business support, as well as a grant of £50,000 with which to develop their innovation.

Donna is one of 34 finalists and has been recognised for her work translating academic research into real world projects in the field of air quality monitoring.

The proposed EarthSense project is for air quality sensors to be mounted at 25 school sites across the country where excessive levels of air pollution are being experienced.

The aim of the project is to help the schools identify and influence behaviours that could be contributing to pollution and therefore reduce pollution levels in the area.

“I am very excited to be on the shortlist for this award and to be recognised for my ability to translate academic research into commercial applications,” Mrs Lyndsay said.

“The Exmoor Federation has recognised the benefit in being involved in innovative academic projects and we have developed links to Exeter University, the Met office and robotics companies to bring new ways of learning into the classroom.

"I hope that this recognition can inspire our local children, particularly girls, to become problem solvers and innovators of the future.”

Innovate UK is a government led initiative that funds and connects pioneering businesses so they can create the products, processes and industries of the future. Its aim is to boost productivity, increases exports and helps the UK economy grow.

Dr Ruth McKernan, chief executive of Innovate UK said: “There are so many talented women with great business ideas and the UK economy would be improved by a better gender balance in our entrepreneurs and business leaders.

"This has been a round-breaking year for us, and I hope that in supporting and telling the stories of our finalists, such as Donna, we can support others to succeed.”