Blue Llama wins the Innovation Award at the 2026 Jersey TechAwards
Phil de Gruchy
On Friday 16 October, Blue Llama won the Innovation Award at the Digital Jersey TechAwards for Swoop.je. It was the first award of the night, and the first TechAward we’ve ever won. I’m still grinning about it.
These are some of the biggest awards in Jersey’s tech calendar. More than 500 people at the Showground, a 70% jump in nominations on last year, and the most competitive TechAwards yet. To be picked out by the judges from that field means a huge amount to us.
Why Swoop?
Buying a home in Jersey is stressful enough without trawling every lender’s website to compare mortgages. Swoop.je puts every local mortgage side by side, free, with no sign-ups and no lender bias.
AI does the heavy lifting. It gathers rates from each lender every day so the listings stay current. Morty the seagull, Swoop’s AI assistant, explains the jargon and answers questions about how borrowing works. We built the platform with AI too, far faster and at a fraction of the cost of a traditional software project.
That’s the part that matters most to us. Swoop went from idea to launch in under 30 days, for a fraction of what a traditional build would cost, and it’s now live in Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It’s AI solving a real problem for real islanders, and that’s exactly what Blue Llama does for organisations across Jersey. Read the Swoop case study.
A team effort
Swoop started as my idea, but it didn’t get here on my own. Thank you to Andry, Maria and Anish, who’ve each played their part in getting Swoop built, launched and growing. Thank you too to everyone who uses Swoop and tells us how to make it better.
A table to remember
We had a cracking table on the night, filled with people who’ve backed Swoop from the start and helped it along the way. Thank you for being there. Sharing that moment with you all made it.
What it means for Blue Llama
We started out 15 years ago building websites. Over the last couple of years we’ve reshaped ourselves as an AI partner for established Jersey organisations, from finding the opportunity to building and running it. This award feels like a sign we’re on the right track, and it came at the right time.
We’re in a great place, and we’re only getting started.
Thank you to Digital Jersey for a fantastic evening, to Lloyds International for sponsoring the award, and to the judges. Congratulations to every winner and finalist.
Wondering where AI could make a difference in your organisation? Let’s talk.