Hunt for the UKs most enterprising place is on

The annual search for the UK’s most enterprising place is now on. Launched last Friday, the Enterprising Britain 2010 competition rewards those cities, villages, towns and neighbourhoods that have tackled the economic downturn head on and are successfully creating jobs, boosting local business and nurturing entrepreneurial talent as the UK emerges from the recession.

To mark the launch Lord Davies, Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Small Business (pictured) visited last year’s winner Lowestoft in the East of England to discover how it succeeded in reducing disadvantage by encouraging enterprising activity and self-employment. Lord Davies spent time at Orbis Energy, an offshore renewable business that has been a catalyst for drawing SMEs to the region, managed by enterprise agency NWES which has helped over 100 new business start-ups in the last two years.

The competition has been running since 2005. This year is the first time it has expanded to five categories which are: Enterprise Culture, Driving Entrepreneurial Skills, Business Support and Start-up, Global Entrepreneurship, and Social Cohesion. Organisations can enter any or all of the categories.

Lord Davies said: “Entrepreneurship is crucial to moving the economy back into growth and our future prosperity rests on encouraging talented Britons to develop their ideas.

“Enterprising Britain is a great opportunity to showcase communities who have come together to build better futures and inspire others to follow their example.”

In recent years Lowestoft has transformed itself from a town in decline faced with declining industries and low aspiration into a breeding ground for business growth and job creation. Local enterprise agency NWES is one of several organisations that has helped to turn Lowestoft around.

Kevin Horne, CEO of NWES, said: “Winning Enterprising Britain really raised the profile of all the organisations working hard to regenerate the area.

“By providing support in business creation and nurturing local talent, Lowestoft is now seen as the place to do business. But we’re not complacent – we’re also working with parts of the community who remain excluded from the mainstream business community and NWES has staff working with local schools to enthuse the next generation of entrepreneurs.

“We have already used the award in attracting substantial new investment into the town in the offshore renewables industry and the profile of Lowestoft has risen rapidly with many people wanting to understand how we have achieved so much. Winning has firmly placed Lowestoft on the business map.”

The Enterprising Britain competition is a key part of the Government’s drive to create the right conditions for enterprise across the UK. It seeks out areas which have embedded a culture of supporting and encouraging their entrepreneurs and businesses.

Pam Hargreaves, Director of Partnerships at Enterprise UK, who run the competition on behalf of the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS), said: “Entering the Enterprising Britain competition is not only your chance to shout about what you’ve achieved, but will in turn help other organisations and communities learn from your successes.

“I would urge all the innovative projects out there that have used an entrepreneurial spirit to transform their local area to enter the competition.”

Enterprising Britain is free to enter and is open to all organisations that are working in partnership to create an enterprising place. The place can be a town, a city, a parish or a neighbourhood and organisations must demonstrate that enterprise is central to the economic and/or social transformation of the place. To register interest email your contact details to enterprisingbritain@enterpriseuk.org. Entries must be submitted by 31 May 2010 and the winner will be announced in October 2010.

Application forms can be downloaded from www.enterpriseuk.org/enterprisingbritain