# Applications open for £30,000 Stelios Award for Disabled Entrepreneurs

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2018/07/11/applications-open-30000-stelios-award-disabled-entrepreneurs/
- Published: 2018-07-11T07:43:50+01:00
- Author: Melanie May

**Applications are now open for the Stelios Award for Disabled Entrepreneurs. **

The award gives disabled entrepreneurs in the UK the chance to win a top prize of
£30,000 for their business, awarded by easyJet founder and philanthropist Sir Stelios
Haji-Ioannou.

Jointly run by the [Stelios Philanthropic Foundation](http://stelios.com) and [Leonard Cheshire](http://LeonardCheshire.org)
since 2006, the award recognises the achievements of disabled entrepreneurs who 
have set up their own company and excel in their chosen business field. Last year
saw Hannah Chamberlain win with her mental health app Mental Snapp.

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All forms of entrepreneurship and planned business activity in the UK, including
start-ups, social enterprise or up and running businesses, which are at least 50%
owned by disabled people, are eligible to apply.

Applications close on 1 October. The winner will receive their grand prize at an
awards ceremony on 14 November. Four runners up will also receive prizes of £10,000
each.

## Criteria for entry

 * The award is open to disabled applicants operating in the UK only.  The Stelios
   Award uses the Equality Act 2010 definition of disability, which also includes
   long-term mental and physical health conditions.
 * The award is open to registered and not-yet-registered companies, charities and
   social enterprises
 * To be eligible, a disabled entrepreneur must own at least 50 per cent of the 
   company
 * The company must be at most seven years old
 * The applicant must have an active online presence
 * Past winners and/or applicants are welcome to re-apply.

Four new international judges with experience in a range of industries have been
announced to join the judging panel for this year’s awards.

They are **Hannah Chamberlain**, last year’s Stelios Award winner and founder of
Mental Snapp, an app to help actively manage mental health using private video diaries,**
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 with over 25 years experience in the consumer electronics
industry, and **Hardeep Rai**, Founder and Managing Director of Kaleidoscope Investments;
an organisation that invests, supports and empowers disabled people to become successful
entrepreneurs.

Full details on eligibility and an application form are available from the [Leonard Cheshire site.](http://leonardcheshire.org/stelios)

## More Stelios fundraising

 * **[EasyJet founder pleges half of his fortune to charity](https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/06/12/easyjet-founder-pledges-half-fortune-charity/)(
   12 June 2017)
 * **[Britain’s youngest self-made billionaire joins the Giving Pledge](https://fundraising.co.uk/2019/05/29/britains-youngest-self-made-billionaire-joins-the-giving-pledge/)(
   29 May 2019)
 * **[EasyJet passengers first to experience Unicef’s virtual reality film at 30,000 feet](https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/10/28/easyjet-passengers-first-experience-unicefs-virtual-reality-film-30000-feet/)(
   28 October 2016)**