Supporting and championing small businesses is at the core of our purpose, which is why we launched the Xero Beautiful Business Fund last year. This initiative provides more than £350,000 in funding globally to our small business customers in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, the UK, Canada and the US. 

There were 28 winners overall, four in each country, who were awarded based on their 90 second video entry about how they would use the funding to support their future business goals. There were four categories – Innovating for environmental sustainability, Strengthening community connection, Trailblazing with technology and Upskilling for the future. 

As a judge, it’s been a privilege to see some of the amazing things that British small businesses are doing, whether evolving their business models with technology or incredible initiatives that benefit broader society. The passion and innovation on show is an extraordinary showcase of the power of UK small businesses, and what the Xero Beautiful Business Fund is all about. On behalf of the Xero team and my fellow judges, we’re incredibly excited to support the growth of these businesses and help them invest in their future.

Alongside myself, this year’s local UK judging panel included Vangelis Kyriazis, Co-founder and CEO, Syft Analytics; Ravi Shah, Partner, Vinod Shah & Co; Michelle Ovens CBE, Founder, Small Business Britain; Nabeel Nauzer, Commercial Operations Analyst, Xero. 

The lucky UK winners will each receive £10,000 in funding. I’m proud to say the winner of the Upskilling for the Future category – The Code Zone – was also awarded one of four global prizes, worth an additional £25,000. 

Here are the UK winners:

Upskilling for the future: The Code Zone

The Code Zone focuses on teaching valuable coding and computing skills to children aged six and upwards, through online and in-person coding clubs. Its platform of interactive games and tailored, ‘spiral curriculum’ help members gain confidence and develop key digital skills. With a growing range of local and online clubs, the organisation teaches children and young adults core coding capabilities and educates them about the possibilities of careers in tech.

Ashley Payne, CEO of The Code Zone and global winner in the Upskilling for the Future category shared: “Winning the Xero Beautiful Business Fund means the world to us at The Code Zone. This incredible support from Xero empowers us to expand our mission of making coding education accessible and fun for even more children across the UK and beyond. With this funding, we can reach new heights in upskilling the next generation, bridging the digital skills gap, and inspiring young minds to shape the future with technology. Thank you, Xero, for believing in our vision and helping us create lasting change.”

Innovating for environmental sustainability: Kapdaa 

Founded by a mother-son duo, Kapdaa is dedicated to transforming material waste into new opportunities. The business collects offcuts—leftover pieces from fashion and interior designers, textile weavers, and mills—and repurposes them into new products like notebooks, bags, and sleep masks. With these efforts, Kapdaa has prevented more than 10,000 meters of fabric from entering landfills and has collaborated with renowned names such as Raeburn, Emma Shipley, the National Portrait Gallery, and Selfridges.

Now, Kapdaa is tackling an even bigger challenge: post-consumer waste. The company is developing a groundbreaking AI system that can automatically detect garment compositions, enabling effective recycling in the UK. This innovation aims to significantly reduce the number of unwanted garments ending up in landfills, promoting a more sustainable and circular future for the fashion industry.

Nish Parekh, Co-founder of Kapdaa shared: “We’re really excited to have won the Xero Beautiful Business Fund. This support comes at a crucial time as we work on creating a plug-and-play sorting system here in the UK. It will help us tackle some immediate challenges and continue our journey towards a more sustainable future in textile recycling.”

Trailblazing with technology: Primary Care International

Primary Care International (PCI) is a social enterprise on a mission to enable person-centered, integrated primary healthcare. This not only means supporting and equipping healthcare workers with skills and resources, but creating learning opportunities to bridge the healthcare gap between low-resource and high-income settings. PCI has already delivered training and consultancy to organisations like the WHO and UNHCR and by 2025, aims to reach 25,000 healthcare workers globally, caring for 7 million people. 

Mamsallah Faal Omisore, Strategy and Clinical Director of Primary Care International shared: “PCI is absolutely delighted to have won the Xero Beautiful Business Fund for UK in the trailblazing for technology track. For a small organisation like ours, getting funds to do the amazing work we do can be a struggle. We are so thrilled that the judges found us worthy! We hope to use the funds to apply AI capabilities to our products and make learning more accessible and relatable for our healthcare heroes around the world.”

Strengthening community connection: Art Works South Yorkshire

Art Works South Yorkshire is a not for profit creative arts organisation, inspiring and helping adults with learning disabilities to reach their potential. By providing opportunities to participate in workshops run by professional creatives, Art Works hopes to challenge people’s perceptions of learning disabilities and autism through celebrating creativity. The organisation has supported artists showcase work in a range of galleries and public spaces across the UK.

Miss Kayleigh Cruickshank, Director/Founder of ArtWorks South Yorkshire shared: “ArtWorks is thrilled to have been awarded this incredible funding, which will allow us to strengthen our work within the community and continue making a meaningful difference.  This funding is a huge step forward in empowering us to create more opportunities and ensure that our disabled artist’s talents are celebrated within the community. We are so grateful to Xero for supporting our vision to transform lives and build a more inclusive community through the power of art.”

Huge congratulations to all the winners, and thank you to everyone who took the time to enter the fund and share your stories.

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