Help with Promise application - review, feedback,categorise the evidence

Stage 1
1

Recommendation Letters – Exceptional Promise (Mandatory Criteria)

  1. Recommender A – Founder & CEO of a UK-based EdTech company(100K+ users)

  2. Recommender B – Founder of an international language-learning app(more than millions of users)

3 . Recommender C – Senior Data Scientist at Marks & Spencer and Founder of a UK Tech Startup

MC1: Published Thought Leadership in Prestigious Tech Platforms

  • Authored 3 original, technical thought pieces in highly regarded publications. Topics span AI in education, adaptive learning, critical thinking, and emerging trends in faith-aligned digital education.
  • Articles demonstrated domain expertise, often referencing real-world product implementation.
  • Featured by a major UK-based magazine (with 300K+ views) alongside other recognised industry contributors.

Supporting Documents:

  • Screenshots of published articles
  • Author bylines and profile links
  • Publication dates and topics
  • Analytics snapshot (where available)

MC2: Leading Growth of a Digital Product + Public Recognition

  • Founder & CEO of a faith-aligned EdTech platform targeting underserved youth education.
  • Personally led full product development for mobile (Kotlin) and web (React.js) platforms.
  • Over 100+ users joined the waitlist pre-launch with zero marketing spend.
  • Launched internal beta via Google Play closed testing to gather authentic user feedback and iterate.
  • Selected from 60+ applicants as one of only five startups to exhibit at a major London-based tech festival alongside Google and Amazon. Event hosted 1800+ attendees.
  • Presented product directly to 100+ users, founders, and tech leaders.
  • Received official letter of appreciation from event organisers.

Supporting Documents:

  • Beta screenshots, GitHub commits, Play Store test listing
  • Waitlist data
  • Event photos & letter of appreciation
  • Architecture diagrams & roadmap

MC3: Social Impact Through Non-Profit Tech Leadership

  • Volunteered as lead technologist for a UK-registered charity working on food relief and community initiatives.
  • Designed and developed the organisation’s donation website and backend system (still evolving).
  • Delivered a full digital transformation plan, including architecture diagrams, admin features, and automation flows.

Supporting Documents:

  • Screenshots of site
  • Architecture diagram for donation system
  • Certificate of Appreciation from the NGO
  • Letter of Recommendation from charity’s President

MC4: Industry Recognition Through Grants & Competitive Accelerator Awards

As the founder and technical lead of a faith-based EdTech startup, I have received substantial external validation from globally recognized tech platforms and highly competitive London-based accelerator programs. These awards not only provided material support, but also validated my work’s impact and innovation in AI-powered learning systems.

London Accelerator A – Innovation Grant Recipient

I was selected for a competitive seven-week accelerator programme in London focused on product-led startups, where I was chosen as one of the top 20 startups out of over 500 applicants. The accelerator provided deep mentoring in product development, user testing, and EdTech scaling.

  • Awarded a £1,000 equity-free innovation grant as part of this program to continue developing and scaling AI-driven learning features.
  • The accelerator’s alumni include startups that progressed to global accelerators like Y Combinator and Techstars, underscoring the prestige of this selection.
  • I engaged with leading figures in the UK tech sector, including founders and CTOs from notable EdTech and fintech companies, reinforcing ecosystem visibility.

London Accelerator B – Strategic Mentorship & Peer Recognition

Additionally, I was selected for a second competitive accelerator in London, aimed at empowering underrepresented founders building high-impact digital solutions. This programme emphasized experiential mentorship, strategic planning, and founder resilience.

  • Selection into this programme was merit-based, not pay-to-play, and included participation in collaborative workshops and product showcases attended by startup advisors and community leaders.
  • The structured support led to strategic clarity in my product development roadmap and helped deepen user engagement strategies.

Technology Grant Support

Further recognition of the startup’s potential and my technical execution came through major global tech platforms:

  • $1,000 AWS Activate Credit – supporting cloud infrastructure deployment
  • $5,000 GitHub Developer Grant – awarded for technical contributions and open-source engagement
  • Credit Grant from Eleven Labs – providing access to state-of-the-art TTS models used in the development of engaging, voice-assisted education modules

Supporting Documents:

  • Accelerator A & B acceptance letters and programme descriptions
  • £1,000 grant award certificate from Accelerator A
  • Grant confirmation emails from AWS, GitHub, and Eleven Labs
  • Dashboard usage stats and pitch excerpts showing technical application of AI/Cloud/TTS tools

Supporting Documents:

  • Grant emails and award letters and other screenshots

Optional Criteria 2 (OC2) – Contribution Beyond Immediate Work Role

OC2-1: Open Source Contributions & Knowledge Sharing

  • 360+ GitHub contributions across public EdTech and AI-focused repositories.
  • Several medium-sized codebases published in Kotlin and Android architecture.
  • 500+ Stack Overflow reputation, 20K+ total user reach, and 17 achievement badges (including Notable/Popular Question).

Supporting Documents:

  • GitHub activity graphs
  • Repo links & contribution summaries
  • Stack Overflow profile

OC2-2: Public Mentorship & Knowledge Transfer

  • Conducted mentorship at Accelerator A’s Demo Day held at a top London tech campus.
  • Virtual mentorship on software enginnering topic
  • Led a session titled:
    “AI-Powered EdTech & Gamification in Digital Learning”
    Presented to over 100 members.
  • Covered topics such as gamification in edtech

Supporting Documents:

  • Presentation pictures
  • Event location and audience breakdown
  • virtual mentorship event coordinator appreciation letter
  • Testimonials from attendees and co-mentors

Optional Criteria 3 (OC3) – Technical & Entrepreneurial Contribution

OC3-1: Technical Ownership of AI-Facilitated Digital Product

  • Built and launched a fully integrated AI-powered learning product from scratch:
    • Mobile app: Kotlin Multiplatform, Jetpack Compose, swift
    • Web: React.js + Vite
    • Backend: Firebase, Ktor, AWS
    • DevOps: GitHub CI/CD
    • AI & Content: Text-to-Speech with ElevenLabs, gamified flows
  • Personally led entire engineering pipeline with support from other engineers.

Supporting Documents:

  • GitHub commit logs

  • Internal test links/screenshots

  • System architecture diagrams

  • Play Store listing & test release OC3-2: Market Strategy, Scalability & UK-Based Growth

  • Incorporated as a private limited company in the UK.

  • Submitted and approved Memorandum of Association reflecting product’s scope and mission.

  • Addressing an underserved, high-potential niche in digital education—comparable platforms in adjacent sectors show 100M+ downloads.

  • Projected £80M–£100M ARR by capturing 1.5% of addressable market.

  • Operating within the UK’s top-ranked innovation ecosystem:

    • UK ranks #2 globally in faith-aligned startup ecosystems (Dinar Standard, 2024)
    • UK ranks #4 globally in EdTech innovation (HolonIQ, 2023)

Supporting Documents:

  • Company registration & incorporation documents
  • Revenue models & scaling roadmap
  • Ecosystem citations & market reports

Additional evidence

Additional Evidence: Competitive UK Employment & Remuneration

Mobile app engineer role

  • New Offer: £50,000/year base salary in a UK product-led digital technology company
  • Previous Role: £34,500/year (+10% bonus) at a london Based EdTech startup
  • Uplift: ~45% increase in base salary, exceeding average industry benchmarks for early-career mobile/AI engineers in the UK
  • Relevance: The new role is based in London and aligns with the my ongoing startup in edtech

Supporting Documents:

  • UK job offer letter
  • Previous payslip or salary confirmation
  • Salary benchmarking from reputable platforms payscale(43000/annum)

will adding this job offer backfire??
also help me with putting evidences split into right category.

many thanks

2

Hi Mohamed, your evidence demonstrates a strong foundation for the Global Talent Visa application. Focus your Mandatory Criteria on Recommendation Letters A/B for leadership validation and use Accelerator awards/grants for innovation proof. Allocate your AI product development under MC2 (product growth) and OC3 (technical contribution), ensuring architecture diagrams highlight your personal technical ownership.

The UK job offer strengthens your case as additional evidence of market alignment - include it with salary benchmarks but avoid using it as primary criteria. Reorganize GitHub contributions under OC2 (open-source impact) with clear documentation of code reuse/community engagement. For non-technical reviewers, simplify technical diagrams and add brief explanations of tools like Ktor/AWS in product documentation.

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Thanks @Akash_Joshi
I will align my evidence based on this

4

I think some of the mandatory evidence re not strong. The evidence of product built yet no substantial traction, just 100 user us not substantial. Preferably use a company already generating revenue. MC4, £1,000 grant is small besides it is not an award for excellence in digital technology.

OC2 looks ok but I am wondering how you want to fit all evidence into three pages. Also, virtual mentorship won’t work, you need to read the updated guide, mentorship must be for physical programmes.

OC3 evidence are not compelling. I think you are not using the updated guide, salary is no longer an evidence example in oc3

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Hi @Francisca_Chiedu @Akash_Joshi

My oc2 and oc3 were accepted previuosly
My MC was not put strong that time, although there was like an appreciation on couple of things, the mc acceptence was like 50/100 last time.

Also the 100 users are currently smes, we launched it as an internal test version before a full production release.

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It was accepted but the recent changes to the guide may affect your previous evidence.

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