Tom Bewick, CEO of Enterprise UK and Chair of Global Entrepreneurship Week highlights how next week will tackles crucial UK national priorities
This article is an abridged version first featured on 10/11/10 by www.startups.co.uk/
“Make a job, don’t just take a job.” That’s a core message of Global Entrepreneurship Week which is happening in 103 different countries around the world next week.
From Monday, the largest international entrepreneurial movement will commence with the aim of kick starting the ‘new decade of enterprise’, during which Business competitions, keynote speeches, conferences and debates will take place. Over a thousand events are scheduled at destinations all around the UK alone, and Tom Bewick, chief executive of Enterprise UK and Chair Global Entrepreneurship Week, said: “We’re saying now is the time for entrepreneurship, we’re saying there has never been a better time to grasp the opportunity.”
In the UK in light of the coalition government’s public spending cuts, it’s clear that the need to promote private sector growth and create jobs has never been greater. As Tom Bewick clarifies: “Cameron’s vision for an entrepreneurial decade is precisely the ambitious plan we need for Britain. We need to re-boot the economy and also focus on different parts of the country – for example the tech scene in London, the science scene around Cambridge, and car manufacturing in the north-east.” When asked about his opinions of a tech-hub to rival Silicon Valley in East London, Bewick said: “It’s definitely a good thing, although we need more than just a Silicon roundabout.”
This year’s event is the beginning of a global approach to entrepreneurship, which will see strengthen inter-country partnerships, competitions and challenges. According to Bewick, this can only be a good thing for a world that is increasingly globalised. However, he maintains a degree of caution when looking at the future: “I think so far this year the economy has been restored to growth, albeit a very fragile recovery, and entrepreneurial activity has certainly been increasing over the last few years. However, the business community is divided as to whether or not the growth will be enough to compensate for the planned public sector employment reductions. And so many aspects of the British economy are dependent on what happens overseas, so it’s a dangerous game to make too many predictions.”
For further information on the weeks’ line-up, visit: http://www.gew.org.uk/