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Opened: Monday, 7 October 2024, 12:00 AMDue: Friday, 25 October 2024, 11:59 PM
So your business idea has been formed, you’ve reviewed the market, and have worked through Validate to prepare your portfolio. You now have a chance to win a grant to take your idea further. You may only submit one entry.
Welcome to the Open Business Creators Fund for Disabled Entrepreneurs
Part of our mission with Open Business Creators at The Open University is to reduce inequalities in the entrepreneurial landscape by providing equitable access to support and funding and championing under-represented and under-estimated founders.
Disabled entrepreneurs are an essential part of the UK economy, with disabled-owned small businesses accounting for 8.6 percent of the turnover of all UK businesses. According to a report by Access2Funding, investors are missing out on £500m in annual returns by not investing in disabled entrepreneurs. That's why The Open University are launching the Open Business Creators Fund for Disabled Entrepreneurs to encourage early-stage entrepreneurs to share their ideas and access support and funding.
We are working with Scope, the disability equality charity, to support disabled entrepreneurs on their entrepreneurial journey. With total funding of £25k provided by The Open University, this opportunity is designed to support any disabled person in the UK or Republic of Ireland who is at the idea or very early stage of starting up a business.
We will be selecting 5 early-stage business to provide £2500 each and 10 ideas to provide £1250 each. This fund is open to anyone resident in the UK or Republic of Ireland with lived experience with a disability. We adhere to the social model of disability where disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment which has a long-term and substantial adverse effect on a person's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. If this resonates with you, then you are welcome to participate.
To identify grant recipients, our panel will ask applicants to use a platform called Validate to explain their business ideas and present a portfolio. Applicants will have the months of September and October to develop and test their business models in the Validate platform and judges will review their portfolios in November. The submission deadline is 25 October 2024. Entries will be selected based on how well they convey their business or idea to the panel through their Validate portfolio.
You can read about how to enter and the terms and conditions of the fund by visiting the "Competition content" tab at the top of this page.
Applicants with lived experience of a disability are eligible to enter if they are resident in the UK or Republic of Ireland and over the age of 16 on 30/11/2024. Employees of The Open University are not eligible to enter. If you have any questions or need the materials provided here in alternative formats, please get in touch with us at Open-Business-Creators@open.ac.uk
You're also welcome to leave us feedback via our form.-
A place to ask questions of the organisers and fellow applicants.