‍Forbes ‘30 under 30’ female founder raises $1.5m Seed Round to disrupt the European compliance market

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Despite only 1% of European funding going to women and underrepresented groups, Naq CEO, Nadia Kadhim, has successfully raised $1.5M in seed funding to revolutionise compliance and supply chain security across the UK and Europe. 

Through its automated data compliance and due diligence platform, Naq is on a mission to turn compliance into a competitive advantage for European and British SMEs, allowing them to accelerate growth and, by doing so, secure the UK and European supply chain. 

The funding round, led by Axivate Capital and with additional support from existing angel investors, will allow Naq to develop the capabilities of its platform further, making it easier for suppliers to have the necessary assurance and security they need to protect some of UK’s and Europe’s most valuable infrastructure. 

Through its unique combination of its automated compliance platform and support from local data security experts, Naq makes compliance, cyber security and due diligence easy and accessible for SMEs while simultaneously providing enterprises & governments real-time visibility over their supplier’s security and compliance posture. 

“SMEs are under immense pressure to meet the data compliance and due diligence requirements set by their respective sectors, customers and partners. They spend hundreds of hours every year collecting evidence of their compliance while painfully slogging through lengthy due diligence questionnaires. This is before they’ve even begun to think about how to keep their data secure in the face of growing security threats.”                                            Nadia Kadhim, CEO of Naq & Forbes 30 under 30 winner

She added, “Naq’s aim is simple: provide all businesses across Europe and the UK access to streamlined data compliance, cyber security and simplified due diligence. We’re delighted with the support we’ve received from our investors and look forward to enabling every business owner across Europe and the UK to turn compliance into a competitive advantage.”

Naq was founded in 2021 by co-founders Nadia Kadhim & Chris Clinton, who saw a need for an easy-to-use platform to help businesses manage their compliance and due diligence obligations. Naq’s automated compliance platform now helps hundreds comply with GDPR, ISO27001 and industry specific regulations. With support from the UK’s NCSC and partnerships with enterprise organisations across the UK and Europe, like Hiscox, Naq is helping companies automatically conform to complex European and British sector requirements while securing some of the most vulnerable supply chains across the continent. 

“As the data privacy and security landscape continues to evolve, compliance is no longer a “nice-to-have”; it’s now an essential part of any business’s operations. The pressure on European SMEs to comply with regulations and complete due diligence has never been higher. Naq’s automated platform simplifies this process while also keeping their data secure. We’re excited to see Naq continue to innovate and expand their customer base, securing the supply chain for enterprises and SMEs alike.”                                                                             Taco Kievit, Axivate Capital

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Bringing data compliance and due diligence into the 21st century

Naq is revolutionising data compliance and due diligence across Europe and the UK. Naq provides businesses with everything they need to meet data compliance regulations, build a robust cyber security posture, and operationalise third-party trust through its proprietary platform and expert human support.

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