EVERY Monday throughout 2018, the Daily Echo has been devoting its business page to Dorset’s thriving start-up scene.

In that time, we have profiled a steady stream of promising new business ideas.

Here are just 10 of those that caught our attention.

Mighty Writer: David and Emma Ralph devised a product which they say could transform literacy for a million children by 2025.

It helps children learn to map out sentences by placing words, symbols and punctuation marks on a large mat.

Cudo Ventures: Your computer spends most of its time idling or asleep. That fact inspired the creation of Cudo, which aims to use some of that unharnessed power to mine crypto currencies.

The resulting revenue can be kept, or donated to a charity. It aims to raise a billion US dollars for charity and to be the first carbon neutral cryptocurrency mining company.

TradeZapp: When gas and heating engineers Lloyd Bird and Adrian Snell were stumped by a technical problem, they called friends and searched internet forums. Aware that the delay was costing money, they hit on the idea of creating an app where tradesmen could ask each other questions and receive points for helpful answers.

Reality Fashion Hunters: Zoe Hall and Lauren Medcraff started an Instagram page helping people to find the outfits they had seen on reality shows such as Love Island. As time went on, they began earning a commission from referring people to online retailers.

Shedspace: Some people are crying out for storage space, while others have it to spare. Shedspace is an online platform, along the lines of Airbnb, aiming to bring the two together.

Devised by Christchurch residents Adam Elcock and Grant Drummond, it covers an area from Bournemouth to Brighton and north to Basingstoke.

Santana Studios: Created by 22-year-old Charlton Santana, this Bournemouth-based business makes nothing but chatbots – in readiness for the day when humans are removed from most customer queries.

It created Feebi, software for handling restaurant bookings and customer queries, which is already being tried at Jenkins & Sons in Penn Hill and Creams in Bournemouth.

Sun Rum: Among several food and drink start-ups was Sun Rum, created by 34-year-old Matt England after extensive research of the drinks industry.

He had been involved with a gin brand and noticed how few makers of rum there were. The former bar manager went to Amsterdam to work on dozens of blends before settling on the final recipe.

8DOL: It has three million users in China but had not come to the UK. 8DOL promises to deliver groceries within 28 minutes.

It was brought to Bournemouth by entrepreneurs Alfie Porter and Craig Moore and backed by the Christchurch-based Solent Group.

Mr Moore said the sector was growing rapidly and that the business could compete with traditional retailers.

Cab Comparison: Designed as a way for the taxi industry to deal with the threat of ride-sharing services like Uber, Cab Comparison enables people to compare fares and book rides up to three months in advance.

It was launched by Bournemouth-based Linsley Anthony, who said: “I was shocked to see how many taxi companies were not embracing new technology.”

Aritha: Soapberries grow wild at the foot of the Himalayas and have been used to wash skin, clothing and pets. But Aritha is the first product to use them for a laundry detergent.

Director Audrey Coleman said it had “been a total labour of love to find a sustainable way to create a liquid product using only soapberries and natural essential oils”.

Rethinkwrap: When Seattle-raised Mary Ann Dujardin was creating packaging for big brands, she spotted a large amount of her work in a dumpster and realised she was “literally designing garbage”.

Now based in Poole, she created Rethinkwrap, a reusable gift wrap, aimed at dealing with the fact that the UK alone throws away 226,800 miles of wrapping paper each Christmas.

“I love shiny wrapping paper and packaging more than anyone … but I hate creating unnecessary waste in the name of someone I love,” she said.