A LONDON-based entrepreneur and their business been awarded £10,000 to support their businesses’ future growth plans and ambitions.

Miranda McCarthy her business Adaptive Yoga LIVE have been given the grant funding by the entrepreneurship charity Hatch Enterprise in partnership with NatWest. Adaptive Yoga LIVE is one of 10 businesses across the UK to receive a share of the £100,000 grant funding round in celebration of Hatch’s 10th anniversary.

Adaptive Yoga LIVE delivers yoga classes and experiences designed by disabled people which can done by anyone. They run accessible and inclusive yoga classes that cater to any mobility level with an aim of empowering everybody to experience the benefits of yoga.

Miranda McCarthy, Founder of Adaptive Yoga LIVE, said:
“Without the £10,000 grant from NatWest, I wouldn’t have been able to participate in the Knowledge Transfer Partnership with South Bank University. This collaboration provides the expertise and innovation needed to develop a high-quality, preventive healthcare app.

“NatWest’s financial support ensures the app is tailored to the needs of disabled users and effectively marketed to reach a broad audience, driving our mission to make adaptive yoga accessible to all.”

The grants have been set up to enable business founders from diverse backgrounds to overcome barriers to growth typically faced by these groups in the start-up sector.

Applications in this round were open to graduates of Hatch programmes, targeting support at underrepresented founders. Of the awardees, nine were female founders, three were from an ethnic minority background and five were disabled. Nine out of the 10 grants were awarded to founders based outside of London.

Rebekah Capon, Managing Director at Hatch Enterprise, said:
“Our mission at Hatch is to build a better world through entrepreneurship, supporting those typically underrepresented in the sector to launch and grow sustainable, successful businesses. Access to funding is a huge barrier to growth for any business, and even more so for historically marginalised communities. 

“This partnership with NatWest is the perfect way for us to mark our tenth year as a charity, and we’re so pleased for the ten incredible founders awarded funding. Receiving these grants of £10,000 will make a real difference to the founders themselves, their businesses, and their wider communities.”

As the biggest bank for start-ups in Great Britain1, NatWest provided funding for the grants and has been a longstanding supporter of Hatch, donating £1 million pounds to the charity last year to accelerate its work. NatWest also sponsors Hatch’s Launchpad and Incubator programmes, helping entrepreneurs to develop the knowledge, skills, confidence and network needed to launch and grow their business.