Dr Ben Maruthappu MBE, Founder & CEO of Cera, has been named Entrepreneur of the Year at the British Business Awards – one of the most prestigious enterprise awards in the UK, highlighting the companies driving growth and economic impact, and attended by celebrities, politicians and leading lights from across the business world, with George Clooney and Sir Bob Geldof as special guests.
The award marks a major milestone in British entrepreneurship, with Dr Maruthappu now becoming the only entrepreneur to be named:
Great British Entrepreneur of the Year (UK Overall Winner, 2023)
EY’s UK Entrepreneur of the Year (UK Overall Winner, 2024)
Entrepreneur of the Year at the British Business Awards (UK Overall Winner, 2026)
Already the only person to have won both the prestigious EY and Great British Entrepreneur titles, this latest recognition reflects Dr Maruthappu’s leadership in building Europe’s largest HealthTech – transforming the lives of older and vulnerable people across the UK.
Almost a decade in, Cera is pioneering the use of technology and AI to revolutionise healthcare – building a more sustainable model of care for an ageing population. With more than 10,000 frontline carers and nurses delivering more than 2.5 million patient home visits a month, across the UK, Cera’s preventative technology has helped it halve avoidable hospitalisations and reduce falls by 20% among the older and vulnerable people in its care – with £1 billion saved to date for the NHS and Government.
Cera is also innovating through robotics and agentic AI to lead care into the future, recently launching the world’s first AI Lab for the care sector, which will see it license its innovations to governments and providers globally, helping to solve health system challenges, and aiming to improve millions of lives.
Dr Ben Maruthappu said: “This recognition reflects the dedication of Cera’s 10,000-strong team of carers, nurses, and technologists, who are helping to reshape health & care around the needs of patients, transforming the sector to improve health outcomes in the UK and internationally.
“Health & care systems everywhere are under growing pressure from ageing populations, rising demand and workforce shortages. Now more than ever, it is vital that we innovate to transform care – saving and improving more lives, freeing up valuable time for patient care, and empowering each worker to have a far greater impact.
“From AI algorithms and agents, to robotics, technology has a major role to play in driving this revolution, but Cera’s impact would be impossible without the dedication of our incredible teams, whose work is improving lives across the UK, bringing our mission and vision to life.”
This year’s British Business Awards were hosted by Rob Brydon, at the EICC in Edinburgh, attracting almost 2,000 guests. As well as George Clooney and Sir Bob Geldof, other speakers included Scottish First Minister John Swinney. All 150 companies shortlisted were evaluated across five core pillars: business performance, innovation, workforce and culture, customer impact, and contribution to society and the wider economy.
Entries were assessed by an independent judging panel made up of 18 senior figures from British industry, chaired by former Unilever CEO Alan Jope CBE, and Emma Crystal, CEO of Coutts Bank. Winners of other categories included major multi-nationals such as AstraZeneca, Holland & Barrett, Vanguard Asset Management, Octopus Energy and Dishoom restaurants.
Alan Jope CBE, Chair of the judging panel, said: “Congratulations to all the winners! It was a tough shortlist – the calibre was extremely high, so the winners were up against some impressive competition.”
Founded in 2016, Cera has delivered one of the UK’s most significant scale-up success stories – growing 100-fold from $5 million to $500 million in just five years. Cera’s 10,000+ carers and nurses now deliver care on behalf of more than 100 Local Governments and two-thirds of NHS regions, counting a visit every second, on average.. Cera is the UK’s most valuable company led by a doctor, and the largest UK company run by an under-40-year-old.
Cera’s innovations are helping to build a more economically and environmentally sustainable future for healthcare – with a model shown to be 10 times more affordable and 15 times more carbon-friendly than hospital care. As demand for care continues to outstrip resources, Cera is also helping to grow the care talent pool – attracting 1 million carer and nurse applicants over the past two years, half from outside the sector. The company has also created thousands of jobs in care for the unemployed and economically inactive, rebuilding lives while boosting the economy – with 35% of all recent hires to Cera’s 10,000-strong frontline workforce previously out of work.
Cera has received widespread recognition for its impact on society, the healthcare sector and the economy, from companies including TIME Magazine, Newsweek, The Economist, The Sunday Times, The Financial Times, Bloomberg, Forbes, Deloitte, Beauhurst, The UK Tech Awards, and many more..
Dr Maruthappu was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours in 2020 – the youngest doctor to receive an honour in the UK Honours System. Six years later, this latest recognition reinforces the scale and impact of Cera’s work to revolutionise healthcare through technology.
