British confidence is certainly soaring this summer. Andy Murray ended decades of frustration in becoming the first British male to capture the Wimbledon crown in 77 years. Then came the birth of Prince George that captured the world's attention and put confidence in the Monarchy at an all-time high. Even consumer confidence is at its highest point since Gordon Brown (who helped launch Global Entrepreneurship Week) was in office.
And now Business Minister Michael Fallon is challenging the country's entrepreneurs to top the record they set in 2012 when they launched 484,211 startups.
Fallon announced a goal of 500,000 startups when he kicked off the 2013 StartUp Britain bus tour.
"The StartUp Britain bus tour supports the government's drive to build a culture of enterprise and I am encouraged to see that this year the bus will visit more locations, reach more people and show that anyone can start a business, anywhere."
Aboard the Startup bus, entrepreneurs can enter the Business Growth Idea Competition for a shot at the £10,000 government salary of Lawrenece Tomlinson, entrepreneur-in-residence at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills.
“Boosting growth is extremely important to me,” said Tomlinson. “I strongly believe the answer does not just lie with politicians, advisers and civil servants, but is something everyone should have the chance to contribute to.”
Contestants have until the end of Global Entrepreneurship Week to come up with a ground-breaking reform that will drive growth. The winner will be announced during on Friday, November 22.