People with ideas for change are being invited to turn them into exciting new businesses, with the help of university experts.
Budding entrepreneurs can submit their ideas to the Ingenuity Programme, a business creation competition, where they will be supported to develop and progress their initial idea with the help of experts from the UK’s top universities, charities and businesses. This year’s prize fund available to winners totals £75,000.
The Ingenuity Programme, run by Nottingham University Business School, supports start-ups to directly address the UK’s social and environmental challenges to drive change in local communities. By entering the Programme, entrepreneurs will receive one-on-one support from specialist mentors to develop their idea into a business plan and be in with a chance of receiving significant investment and support.
Entrepreneurs will also have access to online learning materials and tutorials from industry and academic experts. The programme brings together a network of 30 partner universities, charities, and businesses across the UK to support ideas that promote sustainable ways of living.
The 2023 programme has been designed alongside Nuffield Health, the programme’s key supporter, with the focus aligned to Nuffield Health’s purpose to build a healthier nation. The programme is looking for ideas that focus on building stronger communities, improve health and address health inequalities, and promote environmental sustainability.
“At Ingenuity, we are committed to making the UK’s start-up landscape more inclusive, diverse and accessible. You don’t need any prior business experience to take part, and we will provide you with all the support you need to turn your ideas into a reality,” said Elizabeth Smith, director of the Ingenuity Programme at the Haydn Green Institute at Nottingham University Business School.
Elizabeth continued: “Being able to collaborate and design the programme with charities like Nuffield Health has allowed us to support more people than ever before. We are proud to have delivered more than £750,000 of social benefit through last year’s programme, and look forward to working with the next generation of changemakers this year to tackle issues such as the cost of living crisis, climate change and widening health inequalities.”
“We are really excited for the launch of Ingenuity 2023. The themes this year continue to align closely with our purpose to build a healthier nation – not only through health and wellbeing, but by shining a light on protecting our environment and sustainable living,” said Brendan Street, head of Charity at Nuffield Health.
Brendan continued: “We are also proud to have the opportunity to work with, and support, people from under-served groups to help bring their ideas to life and make meaningful impact in the communities in which they live. It’s inspiring to see the impact the winners from last year have already made within their communities, and I look forward to seeing this year’s innovative programmes building more sustainable and healthier communities.”
Keasha Kellam was awarded the 2022 Impact Entrepreneur of the Year title. Powered by her own lived experience, Keasha Kellam founded ‘Honour Thy Woman’, a community support group that helps domestic abuse survivors in the local area.
After recognising a gap in the support available to domestic abuse survivors, she formed the idea and began assembling a group of volunteers. Keasha later joined the Ingenuity Programme and was supported to turn the volunteer-led group into a financially sustainable social enterprise with a business model and a five-year business plan.
During the programme, Keasha was also able to further develop another idea for providing safe accommodation for women and incorporate this into her business plan. Keasha benefited from the help of a host of academic and business experts, who provided advice on Intellectual Property, developing a Unique Selling Point for the business, pricing structure, and pitching to investors.
The funding Keasha received after winning the national prize has enabled her to employ a Research and Developer to build a programme so that the business can work with international partners.
Keasha Kellam said: “I’m a domestic abuse survivor, but my whole team has experienced domestic abuse so it’s by the community, for the community.
“The Programme did even more for me than I imagined and I was delighted to win the national award. Since winning, so many more opportunities have opened up to me as a result. The authenticity of winning an award has helped me to network with potential collaborators and investors, and I have been able to successfully attract more funding.”
The programme’s learning platform, accessible to all entrants, includes a step-by-step process to help entrepreneurs to think through the finance, marketing, impact measurement, copyright, and organisational development of their solution.
By the end of the programme, each start-up will submit their finished business plans to be assessed by industry experts. The most scalable and impactful ideas from each region will be announced as Regional Finalists. From there, winners will be chosen.
The Ingenuity Programme supports social mobility by providing seed grants and mentorship to innovators looking to start new enterprises, aiming to engage innovators from under-represented and underserved groups across the UK.
To date, Ingenuity has supported more than 3,000 innovators and delivered over £1million in seed funding, including to The Anxiety Map Programme, which created a network of venues trained in anxiety accessibility for people living with anxiety or mental ill health.
