The founder of global location technology platform what3words is set to visit the Isle of Man next month as the headline speaker at TEKEX IoM 2.

Entrepreneur Chris Sheldrick, who co-founded the platform in 2013, will speak at the event on May 7 at the Santander Work Café in Douglas.

His idea to divide the world into three-metre squares and assign each a unique three-word address was initially dismissed by some as unconventional.

However, what3words is now used by emergency services worldwide, adopted by the United Nations for disaster response and integrated into major car navigation systems.

The system is currently available in more than 190 countries and supports over 60 languages.

It is particularly valuable on an island like the Isle of Man, where emergency services can face challenges locating people in remote or hard-to-reach areas.

TEKEX IoM 2 follows the success of its debut event in February, which attracted more than 150 founders, investors and operators and quickly sold out.

The event series forms part of a wider network across the Crown Dependencies, linking entrepreneurs and investors in Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.

To date, TEKEX has hosted more than 30 events, engaged over 3,000 attendees and helped facilitate more than £10 million in early-stage funding.

Founder Ed Prow said Sheldrick’s journey reflects the kind of innovation the event is designed to highlight.

The Douglas event will also feature a number of Manx entrepreneurs, including Chris Lee of Own Homes, Guy Wood of Jobsearch.im, Richard Tavernor of Yoono and Andrew Ferrari-Bradley of Fortunate Partners.

Organisers say the aim is to strengthen connections within the island’s business and innovation community by bringing global expertise together with local talent.

Tickets for the event are available via Eventbrite.