Pizza Hut serves up funding to entrepreneurs from "under-represented backgrounds"

Pizza Hut Delivery and London based Hatch Enterprise, in partnership with Groundwork, a federation of charities that mobilises community action on poverty across the UK, reveal the recipients of the New Founder Programme Grant.

The grant scheme follows the success of the New Founder Programme, a three-stage initiative designed to help UK entrepreneurs from “underrepresented backgrounds” by offering the tools and skills they need to start their businesses.

Access to finance has been a “major barrier” impacting founders from underrepresented backgrounds, particularly female founders.

According to a report from Rose Review, one in three ethnic minority female founders reported making no profit last year, compared with 15 per cent of white, female business owners, while almost half of Asian and other Ethnic minority entrepreneurs having had to stop working on their business idea due to difficulties accessing finance.

All New Founder Programme graduates were invited to apply to the grant scheme, an extension of the programme introduced in collaboration with Groundwork in July 2022 which offers participants funding to help kick-start their businesses.

Graduates that had completed the New Founder Programme Launchpad scheme were able to apply for up to £1,000, and those from the Incubator programme could apply for grants up to £5,000, totalling £38,977 in funding.

Following a “competitive” application process throughout the summer, recipients were chosen based on the “measurable impact” the funding had on the business, as well as on the social and environmental impact of the project.

To date, almost £1m has been invested into the New Founder Programme and Grant Scheme, reaching 764 entrepreneurs across the UK.

Katie Mellor, chief capability and culture officer, (chief people officer), Pizza Hut Delivery, commented: “A huge congratulations to all the grant recipients announced today! We know how nerve-racking it can be to set up and manage your own business, particularly in times like this, where small businesses are impacted hugely by the cost-of-living crisis.

“At Pizza Hut Delivery, we help our franchisees go through this every day. That’s why we’ve always been passionate about giving back to the community and helping the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Joanna Hamer, a spokesperson from Hatch Enterprise, added: “At Hatch it’s our mission to build a better world through entrepreneurship by removing the barriers typically faced by underrepresented founders in the UK. We know that funding is often one of the key challenges for early-stage founders, and this is even more evident in the current climate.”

By Matthew Neville – Correspondent, Bdaily

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