Young Innovator Award: Sheffield entrepreneur wins £5,000 Innovate UK grant to tackle isolation among older people

Two young entrepreneurs from Sheffield have won grants to develop their exciting new ideas.
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The Young Innovator Award assesses potential business projects made by young adults, and searches for talent and future leaders.

The award includes a £5,000 grant, one-on-one business coaching and an allowance to cover living costs, and three people from Yorkshire and the Humber, including two fom Sheffield, were among the latest batch of inspiring winners.

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Hundreds of young people aged 18-30 applied for the programme, with just 63 winners announced nationally as part of the awards, which are in their third year.

Young Innovator Award winner Ella Hopkin, from SheffieldYoung Innovator Award winner Ella Hopkin, from Sheffield
Young Innovator Award winner Ella Hopkin, from Sheffield

Innovate UK supports the programme through the delivery of workshops and briefing events that provide practical business advice to a network of over 8,000 young people across the UK.

Ella Hopkin, 25, from Sheffield was inspired by her time volunteering at AgeUK to create the social enterprise Motion, which provides online interactive exercise programmes to get older people moving and tackle isolation.

She said: “Whilst volunteering at AgeUK I was inspired to find a solution to older adults being socially isolated and far too sedentary, which took the form of Motion Exercise, which designs and delivers inclusive and interactive exercise programmes to care homes. It really got the residents moving, feeling happier and chatting.

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“The pandemic hit and I began delivering the classes online which I now hope to go nationwide. I’m elated to win Innovate UK’s Young Innovators Award. I never imagined myself as a young innovator. It will be an amazing opportunity to learn and work alongside the other winners.

Young Innovator Award winner Ben White, from SheffieldYoung Innovator Award winner Ben White, from Sheffield
Young Innovator Award winner Ben White, from Sheffield

“The award came at the perfect time. It not only gave me a lot of confidence in myself to go and just go and gain that support, but the confidence in my idea with somebody thinking it could actually work and Motion can really help people whilst being sustainable and profitable as well.”

Ella hopes to curb the loss of independence for older people, and is focusing on scaling up her social enterprise by trialling Motion as a community programme. This would also consist of various activities individuals could do to help their physical and mental health.

Another Sheffield winner, 29-year-old Ben White, from Stannington, is the co-founder of Sheffield Tribology Services, which aims to help keep UK railways safe and running efficiently

through a friction and wear testing service.

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The Young Innovators programme continues to support those from diverse backgrounds.

This year, half of the winners are women, a third are from Back, Asian or other ethic minority groups, and 17 per cent have identified as disabled. The winners are also widespread across each region of the UK.

Adam Derradji, 28, a winner from Leeds, is creating an app to help us resist the urge to reach for our devices by rewarding people who spend time away from technology.

He said: “As a student, I wasted most of my time being distracted by my phone. I am now designing a game to actually help us resist the urge to always reach for our devices and

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instead make time spent away from our tech more fun and meaningful."

If you’re an inspiring young innovator, check out how Innovate UK could support you here: https://ktn-uk.org/programme/young-innovators/.

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