Almost 200 people have already entered the Running the Gauntlet contest, run by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA). The competiton is looking to hand out up to £2 million in funding.

Entrants receive free access to The Gauntlet, a virtual tool to look at the strengths and weaknesses of their business cases. Those who submit their details to the contest before 2 August can use the tool twice. The contest itself closes on 2 September.

A shortlist of firms through to the next round will be announced on 12 September.