West Yorkshire SMEs invited to tackle health inequalities with £100k award on offer

Small and medium-sized enterprises across West Yorkshire are being invited to apply with their innovative solutions to help tackle the region’s deep-rooted health inequalities – with a £100,000 final award and extensive business support up for grabs.

The Mayor’s big ideas challenge, launched by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and delivered by Challenge Works, is calling on local businesses to propose bold and commercially viable solutions that address the social and environmental drivers of poor health in local communities.

From limited access to green space and nutritious food to challenges around housing, transport and community infrastructure, many of the factors that shape people’s health sit outside the healthcare system. In West Yorkshire, just 23% of residents live within walking distance of green space, and one in four children grows up in a low-income household – stark figures with long-term implications for physical and mental wellbeing.

Funding and business support on offer

The challenge is open to SMEs based in Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, and Wakefield with solutions that can improve health outcomes for disadvantaged communities. Crucially, proposed solutions must demonstrate clear potential for local impact and long-term sustainability – with business models that could grow beyond the initial funding.

Twenty finalists will receive £20,000 in seed funding, plus access to Nexus’s non-resident membership programme, opportunities to connect and become part of a cohort of like-minded innovators, and access to a tailored package of non-financial support, covering topics such as human-centred design, partnerships, commercialisation, investment readiness, and more. 

Following this development phase, three businesses will then be selected to receive £100,000 each in additional funding to implement their solutions at scale in West Yorkshire.

Wide-ranging solutions

The challenge is open to businesses across all sectors, including food, manufacturing, technology, and community services. Potential solutions could range from improving access to green spaces in urban centres, to digital tools that help healthcare providers overcome cultural or language barriers in service delivery, to fresh food partnerships with schools or community organisations.

“This challenge is a call to all of the innovative organisations in our region, which are essential to an inclusive, growing economy,” says Mandy Ridyard, Business Advisor to the Mayor of West Yorkshire. “We cannot wait to see the brightest ideas from our dynamic West Yorkshire businesses!”

Don’t delay, apply by noon on Tuesday 7 May

To be eligible, businesses must be based in West Yorkshire and able to demonstrate how their solution will directly benefit communities in the region. West Yorkshire Combined Authority is particularly keen to see entries that show real potential to improve quality of life for people who are most affected by the region’s health disparities.

This is a significant opportunity for local businesses not only to access funding, but to build capacity, grow networks and make a lasting difference to the health of communities across West Yorkshire.

To find out more and submit an application, visit:
👉 www.wybusiness-skills.com/MayorsBigIdeasChallengeForSMEs