Disabled founders make up roughly a quarter of UK small business owners, and there are real grant opportunities out there for Disabled entrepreneurs in the UK, as well as organisations like ours working to support them across the country.
But they can be hard to find. Many webpages are outdated and difficult to sift through, or are aimed at businesses much further along in their entrepreneurial journey.
This guide breaks down what’s actually available, who it’s really for, and where to keep checking as new opportunities open.
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Grants and funding for disabled entrepreneurs in the UK
Stelios Awards for Disabled Entrepreneurs
Run annually by the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation in partnership with Leonard Cheshire, this is the UK’s best-known prize for disabled business owners in the UK. In 2026, the Foundation awarded £300,000 to three winners.
It’s worth knowing upfront that this isn’t a start-up grant: applicants need to already own at least 50% of a UK-registered, for-profit company with a turnover of at least £200,000 in a single year. However, if that’s you, this is a strong opportunity to take note of.
If you’re not there yet, it’s one to bookmark for later rather than apply now. Applications open once a year, usually in spring, so check Leonard Cheshire’s Stelios Awards Page for current dates and set a reminder in your calendar for late March.
UnLtd Awards
UnLtd offers Starting Up grants (£500-8,000) for people with an idea or early-stage social venture. Their Scaling Up grants (£8,000- £18,000) support the growth of existing businesses.
The catch is that your venture needs a clear social purpose; this isn’t general business funding. UnLtd commits at least 50% of all of its awards to Disabled and/or Black, Asian and minority ethnic social entrepreneurs, so whilst Disabled founders are a genuine priority group for them, so are businesses with a social impact.
Applications run on a rolling basis with quarterly cut-offs.
Start with UnLtd’s eligibility checker to see which Award fits you.
Then add a date in your calendar to set a reminder for when the next grant offering applicable to you opens for applications.
Government support for Disabled Founders: Access to Work
This is the scheme most relevant if you’re newly self-employed or about to take the leap into entrepreneurship. Access to Work is a government-funded grant that pays for extra costs associated with your disability or health condition.
It covers things like specialist equipment, support workers, communication support and travel costs. It does not cover general start-up costs like stock, marketing, or a standard laptop. However, it can fund the access-related support that makes self-employment possible in the first place.
You don’t need to already be trading. People who are unemployed, working part-time, or just starting out can apply, and new self-employed applicants get up to three years to meet the scheme’s earnings threshold.
The Access to Work system is currently under serious strain. There are organisations such as the Access to Work Collective who are shining a light on these challenges and advocating for change.
As of 2026, the Department for Work and Pensions has been telling new applicants that decisions can take up to 37 weeks. A staff recruitment drive is underway, but DWP itself expects it will take 18 months to bring waiting times down. It’s still worth applying, but ideally as early as possible.
Because of the delays, we don’t recommend relying entirely on Access to Work for the support you need.
The LILAC Centre
The LILAC Centre isn’t a grant-giving body itself, but it’s a hub for Disabled, d/Deaf and neurodivergent founders. It was developed out of the government-backed LILAC Review into the barriers disabled entrepreneurs face in the UK.
When it comes to funding, we recommend this webinar on funding for disabled founders as a good place to start. Other support you can access through the Centre includes free mentoring, webinars, and events.
Finding funding for a social enterprise or Community Interest Company
If you’re building a business with a social or environmental purpose, there is a wider pool of funding available. This funding is specifically for social enterprises, charities and Community Interest Companies worth tapping into beyond disability-specific awards.
A few free, social-enterprise specific tools to bookmark:
1. Hatch Enterprise's Founder Newsletter
We provide over 7,000 founders with new grant opportunities every month, including social enterprise and disability-specific funds.
We suggest registering your business before you apply for any funding. Our guide on how to register a Community Interest Company can help you decide which structure is best for your venture first. Many social enterprise funders are CIC-eligible, but not all, so getting your legal structure right early can open up the right doors to the right funding.
2. School for Social Entrepreneurs’ Funding Guide
A curated, regularly updated list of grants and social investment specifically for social ventures, charities and CICs.
3. Fundin
An AI-powered grant search tool that scans thousands of UK funders, including local councils and community foundations. It matches them to your organisation based on its mission, vision, target support groups and income level.
Before you apply to any grant opportunities
Recognise that they are competitive. Spending time properly identifying the right opportunities and allocating your time accordingly will improve your chances of success.
DO’s
- Read the eligibility criteria fully before you start a long application. Most grant-giving bodies have contact information for queries. If there are aspects of the criteria you’re unsure about, ask before you start a long application.
- Apply for Access to Work early if you think you’ll need it, given current wait times.
- Keep a simple record of which grants you’ve applied to and when. We recommend writing down deadline dates and any dates grant-giving bodies give for when you will hear back. This Funding Log spreadsheet by Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations is a good baseline template.
DONT’s
- Assume a ‘Disabled entrepreneur’ grant is open to your start-up without checking the turnover or trading-history requirements first.
- Wait until you desperately need the money to apply. Think ahead.
- Accept grant funding without checking how it might affect any benefits you receive (more on this in our FAQs below).
Business support available alongside funding
Hatch Enterprise Programme Support
Hatch Enterprise supports Disabled and neurodivergent founders from ideation through to scale support for established businesses. Many of our programmes offer the chance to apply for grant funding for graduates.
In the past 12 months, we have provided grant funding to 40+ Disabled entrepreneurs, with the majority distributed to founders still in the ideation and early stages of their business development.
Join our waiting list in just a few clicks to hear when a programme suitable for you opens for applications.
Side note: This list is separate from our founder newsletter. You can sign up for both at the same time, which we recommend to anyone interested in grant opportunities and wraparound business guidance.
FAQs
Are there grants specifically for disabled people starting a business in the UK?
Yes. But they are limited. UnLtd’s Starting Up Awards, Hatch’s own Get Ready To Start and Launchpad programmes are all open to people who haven’t launched their businesses yet. Access to Work can offer a certain degree of support to early-stage entrepreneurs, but we advise against relying on this support.
If you want to explore realistic expectations for entrepreneurship in the early stages, our guide to starting a business as a Disabled person features founders who started exactly where you are right now.
What’s the difference between a grant and a loan for Disabled entrepreneurs?
Simply put, a grant doesn’t need to be paid back. A loan, such as a Start Up Loan, does. A loan typically comes with interest regardless of how your business performs. This means that whilst loans can be useful and are generally considered easier to access than competitive grants, they carry real risk.
By signing up for a loan, you are committing to repayments before you know whether your business will generate enough income to cover them. If you’re considering a loan, it’s worth working through realistic revenue projections first and getting a second opinion from a business advisor or mentor, such as those available through Hatch’s programmes, before signing anything.
Do I need to already have a business to apply for these grants?
For most of the opportunities above, the answer is no. There’s been a shift in the sector towards supporting people at the idea and early stages of entrepreneurship, not just established businesses, which we’re grateful to see.
Our programmes and accompanying competitive grants are a good example: they are available to Disabled people who are still building the basics of their business structure and are designed to help you launch and grow your MVP more quickly and effectively.
Will accepting a grant affect my disability benefits?
Yes, it can. But it depends entirely on which benefits you receive and how the grant money is used.
Personal Independent Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) aren’t means-tested, so the money itself shouldn’t directly reduce them, but starting or growing a business can sometimes prompt a reassessment of your needs.
On the other hand, Universal Credit (UC) and income-related ESA are means-tested, so grant income or savings can affect your payments. Every individual’s circumstances are different, so rather than relying on general guidance like this, we recommend using a benefits calculator and speaking to an organisation such as Citizens Advice, Turn2Us, or Disability Rights UK before you accept any grant.
