ENTERPRISE: UNLOCKING THE UK’S TALENT

1. ENTERPRISE: UNLOCKING THE UK’S TALENT

2. The Context • Employment in SMEs has grown by 10% since 1997. • Productivity growth in small firms has exceeded that in large firms since 1998. • More UK SMEs have an ambition to grow; and business survival rates are higher than a decade ago. • UK is third in G8 ranking for early stage entrepreneurship, up from fifth in 2001.

3. Challenges • While we lead many EU competitors on key measures of entrepreneurship, we lag USA. • Key differences with USA: USA has more businesses per head; they achieve quicker and higher growth; and there’s less fear of failure. • Biggest gap with USA is women’s enterprise. • Significant variations within UK across regions and groups of people.

4. Vision • Renewed enterprise vision, to make the UK - the most enterprising economy in the world - best place to start and grow a business • Government wants to see - more people with the ambition to start, grow and innovate within business - more people having access to suitable business advice and finance - and all of this enabled by a strong regulatory environment

5. The Framework Business

6. Encouraging a culture of enterprise • An enterprise culture in which everyone with entrepreneurial talent is inspired to turn their ideas into wealth • The challenge is to embed a culture of enterprise and counter the UK’s cultural fear of taking risk and failure

7. Encouraging a culture of enterprise • Global Entrepreneurship Week • Premier League • Women’s Enterprise Campaign and provision of support for women’s enterprise • Over 50s Campaign • Enterprising Britain competition

8. Knowledge and Skills • Continuous journey for Enterprise Education • National Enterprise Academy • Increased enterprise skills training • Business Mentoring • Improvements to Business Link and access to business support

9. Access to Finance • Ensure that entrepreneurs and small business owners have the knowledge, skills and opportunity to access the finance they need to make their enterprising ideas a reality.

10. Access to Finance • Package to help ensure start-up/growth not inhibited by credit crunch impact (SFLG) • £12.5m towards capital fund linking investment readiness and networking support for women • Additional £30m through Enterprise Capital Funds to stimulate “mezzanine” finance • Improvement of “investor readiness” support, including targeting on under-represented groups.

11. Business Innovation • Enterprise and Innovation are inextricably linked • The exploitation and commercialisation of new ideas is key to enabling enterprise activity

12. Business Innovation • Barriers to innovation in services (DIUS) • Innovation through Government procurement (OGC, DIUS) • University Enterprise Networks

13. Regulatory Framework • Independent review on ways of ensuring firms can place greater reliance on official guidance • Development of “think small first” policy: • Is exemption practicable? • Scope for simplification of enforcement • Regulatory Budgets

14. Wider Benefits • The Government’s vision is – • “.. that everyone, irrespective of where they live, their gender, ethnic origins or any other differences, can be part of and enjoy the benefits of a dynamic and growing economy.” • Role of enterprise - Through all forms of enterprise, the Government’s aim is to bring social and economic benefits to more deprived parts of the country and those groups in the population heavily represented there.

15. Wider Benefits • Working with the Prince’s Trust • Uptake of the Risk Capital Fund for Social Enterprises • Working with the Community Development Finance Sector and CDFIs • The work of the Ethnic Minority Task Force

16. Enterprise strategy: • Programme of Implementation: • Strong Ministerial commitment • Development of further ideas to complement and strengthen the Enterprise Strategy

17. Enterprise: Unlocking the UK’s Talent