• February 8, 2026

Malayali Entrepreneurs in the UK Honoured with Innovator of the Year Award

Malayali Entrepreneurs in the UK Honoured with Innovator of the Year Award

LONDON Feb 8: UK-based Malayali entrepreneurs Hermer Cheese Balan and Cyril Roy have been honoured with the prestigious Innovator of the Year Award for developing an innovative solution addressing key challenges in the UK healthcare sector.

The award was presented by Investors Limited, the UK government’s official endorsement body, under the Innovator Founder Visa scheme. The duo were selected across 10 categories from more than 750 startups worldwide, marking a significant achievement.

This is the first time such an award has been presented since the launch of the Startup Visa and Innovator Founder Visa programmes in 2019.

Hermer Cheese and Cyril are the founders of Mentor Merlin UK Limited, a health training technology company established with the vision of making a meaningful impact on the UK’s healthcare system. Their platform aims to reduce delays in nurse recruitment, ensure quality control, connect nurses with NHS employment opportunities, and streamline training placements for mandatory nursing registration exams in the UK.

The Mentor Merlin platform incorporates AI-driven tracking, training progress assessment, performance analytics, compliance monitoring, and onboarding support. Within just four years, the company has grown into a nationally recognised institution in the healthcare training sector.

Hermer Cheese, a native of Irinjalakuda in Thrissur, and Cyril, from Kaipuzha in Kottayam, said the recognition is a matter of pride for Kerala and India’s rapidly growing startup ecosystem, and they hope it will inspire more young entrepreneurs to explore global innovation opportunities.