Applications open for prestigious disabled entrepreneurs award
Recognising disabled entrepreneurs in the UK, applications are now open for the Stelios Award from July 2nd.
Jointly run by the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation and disability charity Leonard Cheshire since 2006, the award recognises the achievements of disabled entrepreneurs who have set up their own company and excel in their chosen business field.
The award offers a top prize of £30,000 for their business, which is awarded by easyJet Founder and Philanthropist Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou. The winner will receive their prize at an Awards ceremony held on November 14th with four runners-up receiving prizes of £10,000 each.
All forms of entrepreneurship and planned business activity in the UK, including start-ups, social enterprise or up-and-running businesses, are eligible to apply.
Open only to disabled applicants in the UK, the award uses the Equality Act 2010 definition of disability, which includes long-term mental and physical health conditions, to measure eligibility.
The award is open to registered and not-yet-registered companies, charities and social enterprises and, to be eligible, a disabled entrepreneur is required to own at least 50 percent of the company.
Additionally, the company must be a maximum of seven years old and have an active online presence.
Four new international judges with experience in a range of industries are on the judging panel for this year’s awards. The judges are: Hannah Chamberlain, last year’s Stelios Award winner and Founder of Mental Snapp; Dr. Caroline Casey, an award-winning social entrepreneur, international speaker and leading authority on diversity and inclusion; Stas Strach, an international entrepreneur and business leader; and Hardeep Rai, the Founder and Managing Director of Kaleidoscope Investments.
The closing date for applications is October 1st.
For full details on eligibility and an application form, visit facebook.com/steliosfoundation or leonardcheshire.org/stelios.
Leonard Cheshire Disability is the UK’s largest voluntary sector provider of services for disabled people, with services including care, support and projects to support disabled people into education, employment and entrepreneurship.
The Stelios Philanthropic Foundation is a registered charity in both Monaco and the UK which backs a number of charitable initiatives in the UK, Greece and Cyprus. The Foundation gives support in four main areas: scholarships, supporting entrepreneurship with cash prizes, donating money to environmental and other charities and operating a poverty relief programme in Greece and Cyprus.