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£213,808 Awarded Through Hatch’s Latest Small Business Grants Round

Blog format [2026] (1)

At Hatch Enterprise, we back those facing systemic barriers to accessing the benefits of entrepreneurship with small business grants designed to catalyse social innovation.

Last autumn, we had the privilege of distributing our largest grant round to date, awarding £213,808 in small-business grants to 80 extraordinary overlooked entrepreneurs across industry and geography. 

From independent clothing brands repurposing surplus fabrics in South London, to digital platforms supporting the UK’s millions of unpaid carers, our latest cohort of grantees is a powerful reminder of what becomes possible when underrepresented founders get the backing they deserve. 

This grant round was made possible thanks to contributions from Ares Charitable Foundation, Southwark Council, NatWest and others.

Small Business Grants: The Numbers

This round’s grant funding was distributed across three programme tiers, reflecting the diverse stages of development and growth we’ve supported: 

49 Launchpad Grants Distributed.

For pre-launch and early-stage founders taking their first steps in business. 

17 Incubator Grants Distributed.

For small businesses actively looking to develop and grow.

14 Accelerator Grants Distributed.

For well-established SMEs looking to develop and implement a growth plan.

Together with our unique programme methodology, these 80 grantees have gained the knowledge and foundations to contribute to measurable social change. When mapped against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the breadth of impact is transformational on a societal level. 

Working Towards A More Sustainable Future

To contextualise the impact our founders have, we track how each business on a Hatch Enterprise programme addresses UN Sustainable Development Goals. The most prominent themes across the grantee cohort are: 

SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing
Aims to boost the health of a country’s overall population by promoting healthy lifestyles, preventive measures and modern, efficient healthcare that’s accessible to everyone. SDG 3 includes targets like achieving universal health coverage and reducing rates of preventable health and mental health conditions.
SDG 3
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
Aims to reduce inequality within and amongst countries. SDG 10 calls for reducing inequalities in income as well as inequality based on age, gender, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status within a country.
SDG 10
SDG 4: Quality Education
A commitment to ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and the promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all.
SDG 4
SDG 5: Gender Equality
Aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls within and across countries. SDG 5 includes targets such as ending discrimination and violence against women and girls, and ensuring equal rights to economic resources, leadership, and decision-making.
SDG 5

The businesses awarded small business grants through The Hatch Fund’s latest distribution round are collectively addressing all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Numbers only tell one part of the story.

Keisha Ehigie: Imagine Me Stories, Incubator Graduate

Currently, just 3.5% of children’s books in the UK feature a Black main character. 92% of primary schools admit that their libraries are not diverse enough. Keisha Ehigie is on a mission to change that, one book delivery at a time. 

Imagine Me Stories is a book subscription service for children aged 0-12. The social enterprise delivers titles with Black protagonists to help children see themselves in the stories they read. 

Imagine Me Stories is encouraging all families to build diverse libraries. Achieving this by working with schools across the UK to help them create more inclusive learning environments. 

I’ve been on other programmes, but Hatch stood out because it felt personal and like they actually cared about us as individuals, not just our businesses. The session leaders were warm and empathetic, with a real emphasis on mindset and mental health, which I truly appreciated. Connecting with other Hatch business owners and sharing experiences made a big difference, and it felt reassuring to be surrounded by people who genuinely cared. Looking ahead, the funding from Hatch is genuinely transformative for the business. It comes at a crucial time and will allow me to invest in marketing so we can reach many more children who need our services, grow our impact, and confidently scale Imagine Me Stories.
Keisha Ehigie
Founder, Imagine Me Stories

Keisha Ferrel: Carer Love, Launchpad Graduate

There are over five million unpaid carers in the UK. Many are suddenly thrown into caregiving with little preparation or support. That’s why Carer Love exists, to offer personalised well-being and respite for carers through a digital platform. 

The service supports unpaid carers to manage their health and mental health digitally, anytime, anywhere. Carer Love has long-lasting potential to reduce pressure on overstretched NHS services while boosting carers’ ability to stay well. 

Carer Love is deeply personal to me - it was born from my lived experience as an unpaid carer. After my mother passed away, I carried not only grief but also a clear sense of purpose. I knew I wanted to help others walking the same path I had walked. I understood the emotional weight, the isolation, and the quiet strength of unpaid carers because I had lived it. Hatch helped me stretch that vision. It guided me in shaping Carer Love into a wellbeing service that can support the many different types of unpaid carers, each with their own realities and needs. The programme helped me recognise the value of my voice — not just as someone with lived experience, but as someone who can serve, advocate, and build for others. Through Hatch, I gained clarity, confidence, and direction. It has helped me begin transforming Carer Love from a personal mission into a growing, lasting service rooted in compassion, community, and real impact.
Keisha Ehigie
Founder, Imagine Me Stories

The Ripple Effect of Small Business Grants: Who Our Grantees Are Reaching

One of the most powerful things about supporting underrepresented entrepreneurs is how their success ripples through society, creating lasting impact for the people they’re building businesses for, too. The businesses supported through our Autumn 2025 small business grants round are reaching some of the most underserved communities across the UK, with many founders drawing on their own experience to shape products and services that catalyse social innovation across industries. 

The top five groups served by our latest grantee cohort reflect the depth of social need being addressed: 

Children, teens and young adults up to 25.

Innovated for by 57% of grantees.

Building a better world for our young people facing systemic barriers to education and employment. 

People living with disabilities.

Innovated for by 45% of grantees.

Founders are designing inclusive products and services by and for people with singular and multiple disabilities. 

 People who are Black, Asian, or Minority Ethnic.

Innovated for by 41% of grantees.

Addressing specific and specialised problems faced by different ethnicities across the UK.

People on low income.

Innovated for by 36% of grantees.

Tackling economic exclusion head-on, building pathways to financial stability and independence. 

In summary, when we back a diverse, vibrant mix of entrepreneurs, microgrants can support those who are solving real, specific, and overlooked socioeconomic problems. Furthermore, underrepresented founders innovate with a depth of understanding that only comes from proximity to the communities themselves. 

Stay Connected.

Help Us Distribute More Small Business Grants Through The Hatch Fund in 2026.

The Autumn 2025 grant round is just one part of what Hatch Enterprise offers our beneficiaries, in line with our mission to build a better world through entrepreneurship. Every day, we work alongside entrepreneurs who face structural barriers to funding, networks, and expert knowledge, and we believe that changing who gets to build a business changes everything. 

But we cannot do this work without the backing of like-minded partners who share our vision of an equal, fairer economy that works for everyone. This grant round was only possible thanks to our partnerships with Pizza Hut, NatWest, Ares Charitable Foundation and Southwark Council. 

If you’re inspired by what you’ve read, we invite you to stay close to our work. Sign up for our new supporters newsletter to hear about our progress –  whether you’re a founder yourself, somebody looking to partner with Hatch, or simply someone who believes a more equitable economy is possible. Our work is a team effort; and we want you to join us in building a better world through entrepreneurship. 

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