Grant recipients announced for the 2025 Open Business Creators Fund for Women in Business
The businesses selected to receive funding from the Open Business Creators Fund for Women in Business, (delivered by The Open University (OU) and sponsored by NatWest) have been announced!
The fund was created to champion women founders across the UK who are building businesses with purpose, creativity, and real social impact. It aims to help in addressing the gender gap in entrepreneurship by offering tailored support, funding, and expert guidance to women at the earliest and often most challenging stages of business development. The programme saw over 500 women participate, accessing business modelling software and attending a series of webinars led by OU academics, entrepreneurs-in-residence and partners.
This year’s businesses reflect the extraordinary breadth of women-led innovation, with many of these ventures rooted in lived experience, and founders turning their personal challenges into powerful solutions for themselves and others.
Anick Gnahore, an OU Law student, from The Homeless Restaurant CIC said, “The mission of the Homeless Restaurant CIC is to restore dignity through food and opportunity. By providing nutritious meals alongside paid training and employment, the aim is to tackle food insecurity while empowering people experiencing homelessness to rebuild their lives. This grant will help take the first practical steps toward turning this vision into a sustainable, community-led reality.”
Beatriz Ceni Lopes from Tooul also said, “Tooul's mission is to restore independence and dignity for people living with a stoma. This funding will be extremely helpful in supporting our user testing and the development of our prototypes, helping us deliver assistive devices that redefine how we see disability.”
All applicants (funded and not funded) have been granted access to the NatWest Accelerator Community – a thriving community for entrepreneurs, which provides a range of support to those seeking to grow a business.
With this funding and ongoing access to support materials, these founders are well equipped to bring their ideas to life.
The list of funded businesses
Tooul
Creates innovative assistive mirrors that empower people with colostomy or ileostomy bags to change them more independently, comfortably, and with dignity.
Dabalox
Offers an AI-powered “Heat Coach” that helps heat pump installers communicate clearly with homeowners, reducing misunderstandings and improving installation confidence.
Amata Storybooks
Builds a digital ecosystem of inclusive, interactive storybooks, animations and characters that help children learn with joy and curiosity.
AI in Schools
Delivers expert-led, hands-on AI and coding workshops for primary, secondary and SEND schools, boosting student literacy while providing CPD for teachers.
BEAME
Designs ultra-thin UV protection cheek patches to shield areas of the face where sunscreen fails first, supporting people prone to melasma and pigmentation.
Freeater Ltd
Is a user-friendly platform that supports people with dietary restrictions in making informed, confident food choices.
Little Paws for Coffee
A community-focused coffee spot serving gym visitors while channelling profits into rescue animal care.
The Kindful CIC
Provides evidence-informed emotional wellbeing training and mentoring to help individuals and organisations better understand and manage stress.
Homeless Restaurant CIC
Offers round-the-clock nutritious meals, paid employment and culinary training to people experiencing homelessness.
Little Teacups
A trauma informed family hub offering affordable play sessions and a café that supports community connection.
Embodied Caring
A resilience consultancy giving healthcare professionals trauma informed, neuroscience-based tools to manage stress and burnout.
DIIISCO
A decentralised AI inference platform enabling secure, affordable and private deployment of large language models.
The Canine Hydro Hub
Provides hydrotherapy, physiotherapy and electrotherapy to support canine rehabilitation and fitness.
Orra Pilates Socks
Creates stylish, high-quality Pilates grip socks that inspire confidence, comfort and self-connection.
Ven
A home based vending model offering fresh, ethical, locally sourced produce to nourish people and communities.
And, Breathe
A trauma informed wellbeing venture supporting women recovering from trauma or burnout through circles, workshops and community programmes.
StoryScapes
Produces realistic, wipe clean terrain playmats and scenic backdrops that nurture imaginative and therapeutic play.
Roamstead
A portable rooftop garden system giving van lifers, micro home dwellers and nomads access to fresh, home grown food.
Kin.
A platform offering instant, lived experience human guidance to support people through everyday challenges and moments of uncertainty.
Healing Hoofs and Hearts
Provides trauma-informed equine therapy that teaches emotional regulation, trust and long term wellbeing skills.
Contact our news team
For all out of hours enquiries, please telephone +44 (0)7901 515891
Contact detailsNews & articles
Grant recipients announced for the 2025 Open Business Creators Fund for Women in Business
The businesses selected to receive funding from the Open Business Creators Fund for Women in Business, (delivered by The Open University and sponsored by NatWest) have been announced.
Explore
Undergraduate
Postgraduate
Policy
-
Follow us on Social media
-
