Why Global Entrepreneurship Week is important

 ”The future of our economy depends on a new generation of entrepreneurs coming up with ideas, resolving to make them a reality and having the vision to create wealth and jobs. I know how free-thinking, inventive and enterprising the British people are so I’m confident about that future.”
David Cameron, Prime Minister 

We believe that a large national campaign to promote entrepreneurship is a vital part of making the UK more entrepreneurial, to encourage more people to start up their own business.

The challenge we face is simple: whilst more than half of the population would like to start their own business, less than 5% actually do. These entrepreneurial ambitions are even more acute among certain demographic groups – particularly among young people and women. Young people in the UK are three times more likely to be unemployed than adults, and more than twice as many men start up businesses as women.

Yet mass participation in activities designed to promote entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial thinking can have proven outcomes in addressing these issues. Global Entrepreneurship Week – which began life in the UK back in 2004 as Enterprise Week – is the world’s largest campaign to promote entrepreneurship and is recognised by organisations all over the UK as the highlight of the entrepreneurship calendar.

As a result of last year’s campaign: 

• Young people who attended events during the week said that they were 35% less likely to put off by fear of failure
• Some 45% of participants said that they were more likely to grow their business after attending an event during the week.
• There was an increase of 60% in the number of participants who considered entrepreneurship as a good career choice after the week.