StartUp Britain
Groundbreaking campaigns and projects announced to help inspire and support new businesses in the UK.
The Government has today announced a package of measures to support enterprise and small business, including that every school in England will be able to develop and run its own business.
These announcements come alongside the launch of Start-Up Britain, the ground-breaking response from the private sector to the Government’s call for an ‘enterprise-led’ recovery. Prime Minister David Cameron has helped launch this major new campaign to support entrepreneurs.
These new measures will give young people the opportunity to gain real business experience, inspiring the next generation to seriously think about starting their own company. The Government has today announced:
- Support for every school to run its own business through the Enterprise Champions Programme.
- The creation of enterprise societies in every University and most Further Education Colleges.
- A major roll-out of Tenner Tycoon, the successful competition owned and run by the Peter Jones Foundation.
- A new online tool, the Innovation Launch Pad, enabling small businesses to pitch their ideas on how they could do the business of government more cheaply or more efficiently.
- The launch of Brighton Fuse, an initiative to expand the creative, digital and IT sector in Brighton and Hove and provide business opportunities for graduates.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said:
“We want to transform the ambition and aspiration of young people through real business experience.
“Through Tenner Tycoon, the Enterprise Champions Programme and enterprise societies, we will be giving young people insight into enterprise at an early age, showing them how rewarding it can be to transform your own ideas into a real business.”
StartUp Britain
StartUp Britain is an independent collective of UK entrepreneurs and big businesses, representing the private sector response to the Government’s ambition for an enterprise-led recovery.
Over 60 leading global brands have pledged millions of pounds in support to new entrepreneurs under a major new campaign launched on Monday 28 March.
StartUp Britain will be a champion for the UK’s 270,000 businesses that start up every year aiming to help drive growth by accelerating, inspiring and celebrating Britain’s start-up talent.
Follow StartUp Britain on Twitter
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Inspiring the next generation
Speaking about today’s announcements, Business and Enterprise Minister Mark Prisk said;
“We need to inspire young people to strike out on their own, and also give them the practical tools to help. It is vital that everyone has the opportunity to develop their ideas and learn the skills needed to succeed in business.
“Enterprise societies will be run as businesses, engaging with entrepreneurs and delivering the knowledge, networks and skills that students need to start and manage a business. We need more growing companies in this country and the Government is doing everything it can to harness the great enterprising spirit of our nation.”
Enterprise Champions Programme
Schools across the country will set up and manage a business through the the Enterprise Champions Programme.
Schools will be given access to online resource materials and tools which will give practical advice for teachers. The Government will help schools engage local enterprise champions to support school businesses and extend learning into the commercial environment. BIS will be working with the Education and Employers Taskforce to have all elements of the programme up and running by the end this year.
Enterprise societies
Enterprise societies in universities and colleges will provide students with the skills and support to develop and manage a business. The Government will aim to deliver societies into all 89 universities in England and at least 160 Further Education Colleges.
BIS will work with the National Consortium of University Entrepreneurs (NACUE) and the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurs (NCGE) to provide recommendations by the end of June, and to showcase the first new enterprise societies by November this year.
Tenner Tycoon
Tenner Tycoon challenges young people to make as much profit and social impact as possible through enterprising activities over one month with a ten pound loan. Currently, 25,000 young people take part in the Tenner Tycoon competition each year. The Government will work with the Peter Jones Foundation to help Tenner Tycoon reach at least 250,000 young people by 2014.
Peter Jones CBE said:
“I welcome the Government’s commitment to increase its focus on enterprise in schools. Through my Foundation and Enterprise Academy, I want to help rewire the entrepreneurial potential of our country. The strength of business-led initiatives like Tenner Tycoon is that it gives thousands of children across the nation an opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship in a very practical way. Over the course of a month, by seeing what they can do to grow a ten pound note, young people learn essential business skills.
“My Foundation has ambitious plans to grow Tenner Tycoon tenfold from 25,000 in 2011 and this will help create a winning enterprise culture in our schools. We will work with government, business, education and political audiences who can help realise the superb potential of the scheme and the ambitions of our young people.”
Innovation Launch Pad
If you are a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) you can now pitch your business ideas through the Innovation Launch Pad, showing how you could provide better value for money in the delivery of the Government’s business.
You will be able to submit your business ideas between Monday 28th March and Friday 22nd April.
The best ideas will be handpicked by a community of civil servants and, after intensive mentoring from some of Britain’s foremost entrepreneurs, those that demonstrate the highest impact will be invited to present their ideas at a Product Surgery in the summer. In addition, Downing Street will host a reception for those with the best ideas. This will stimulate new open competitions in Government markets in which these suppliers will be able to participate.
Brighton Fuse
This is a £1 million government funded project to fuel the creative, digital and IT economy in Brighton. It is led by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Council for Industry and Higher Education (CIHE).
It brings together Brighton and Sussex Universities with Wired Sussex, which represents 2,000 creative businesses. It aims to help the Brighton cluster create more entrepreneurial opportunities for new graduates and help graduate-rich SMEs gain access to the best university research to help build their businesses.