It has been 13 years since I set up the Stelios Award for Disabled Entrepreneurs with disability charity Leonard Cheshire, to celebrate and support the hard work of disabled people who have set up their own businesses. We’ve been proud to see our winners flourish, build their businesses and carve out brilliant careers since then.
This year, we are giving out the biggest ever pot of prize money for our winners, totaling £100,000! Alongside a top prize of £30,000, and four prizes of £10,000, four awards of £5,000 are also up for grabs. For the first time, we’re also offering a special Judge’s Prize of up to £10,000 for businesses that don’t quite meet the awards’ criteria but show great promise – such as entries made on behalf of disabled people for legal reasons.
In short, there are more reasons than ever to sign up for the only award in the world specifically for disabled businesspeople.
The awards are now open and we want to hear from all businesses, social enterprises, charities, and even start-ups. If you are disabled and you have a strong business or an idea for one, we want to see your entry.
Apply before the deadline on 10 September 2019 by visiting Facebook (Stelios Awards for Disabled Entrepreneurs in the UK 2019) or through the award partners Leonard Cheshire at leonardcheshire.org.
Sir Stelios with the winners of the Stelios Awards for disabled entrepreneurs UK 2018