London-based disabled entrepreneur wins funding from easyJet’s founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou

A London-based ‘tech for good’ founder has been announced as one of the winners of this year’s Stelios Award for Disabled Entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneur Joseph Williams set up inclusive recruitment platform Clu, which aims to democratise the job market by helping organisations re-evaluate what it takes to do a job well and who is capable of doing it. He was awarded the prize of £10,000 presented by Sir Stelios’ Philanthropic Foundation, which has pioneered the awards for the past 13 years, in partnership with leading disability charity Leonard Cheshire.

Sir Stelios presented the award to Williams along with Leonard Cheshire’s Chair of Trustees, David Grayson CBE following a competitive application and finalist interview process.

Sir Stelios said: ‘Joseph and the team at Clu won the award due to their commitment to making the workplace fair and work for everyone, irrelevant of background. In particular, the work they are doing helping displaced refugees gain access to the UK job market is invaluable and made their application really stand out.’

Joseph Williams added: ‘We are very grateful not only for this opportunity from Sir Stelios but also for the recognition of our work. The prize money will go towards further development of the Clu platform and continuing our work with mobilising disenfranchised communities into meaningful work.’

The Stelios Philanthropic Foundation’s mission is to support a diverse range of charitable activities, primarily in places where the founder has lived and worked – the UK, Greece, Cyprus and Monaco.