Alex Till

Alex Till is one of the UK's most experienced and respected voices in small business support, with a career spanning more than two decades dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and micro-businesses start, survive and grow. As Chief Executive of MENTA, the Suffolk Enterprise Agency, Alex has spent over ten years building an organisation that has helped more than 50,000 micro and small businesses across the East of England through business hubs, training programmes, mentoring and co-working spaces.
Alex's passion lies at the grassroots of enterprise: the micro-businesses and start-ups that make up the vast majority of the UK economy but often have the least access to advice, funding and confidence-building support. This conviction has shaped both his work at MENTA and his national leadership role as Chairman of the National Enterprise Network (NEN), the UK-wide membership body representing enterprise support organisations. Alex first joined the NEN Board in 2014, was re-elected in 2016, and was appointed Chairman in 2018, a position from which he has advised government on small business policy and championed the value of high-quality, locally rooted business support ever since.

Alex works constructively across the political spectrum, engaging with all parties to keep small business support on the national agenda regardless of which government is in office. He has provided evidence and influence to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Select Committee, helping to shape policy affecting self-employment and enterprise routes into work. He also undertakes regular work with the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and the probation service, supporting prison leavers and people under probation supervision into self-employment and helping them build sustainable futures for themselves through business creation, an extension of his long-held belief that enterprise can be one of the most powerful tools for social mobility and rehabilitation.
ROLES & RECOGNITION
● Chief Executive, MENTA — The Suffolk Enterprise Agency, leading business support, training and start-up services across Suffolk and Norfolk.
● Chairman, National Enterprise Network — the national membership body for enterprise support organisations across the UK.
● Fellow of the Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship (IOEE).
● Member of the Enterprise Research Centre (ERC) Steering Group, contributing frontline insight to national research on small business growth and policy.
● Ambassador for The King's Trust (formerly The Prince's Trust), supporting young people into enterprise for over 30 years.
● Judge, Barclays National Innovation Awards, recognising and championing the UK's most innovative small businesses.
● Board member, The Prince's Trust Suffolk, for over ten years.
● Former Visiting Fellow, University of Suffolk School of Business.
POLICY & PUBLIC IMPACT
Alex works across all political parties to ensure small business support remains a national priority, and has contributed evidence and influence to the DWP Select Committee on issues affecting self-employment and welfare-to-work pathways. He regularly partners with the Ministry of Justice and the probation service, helping people leaving custody or under supervision to access self-employment support and build new futures through enterprise — work that reflects his broader commitment to inclusive entrepreneurship, alongside his long-standing involvement in refugee support programmes.
INTERNATIONAL WORK
Alex's outlook has always extended beyond Suffolk and the UK. Earlier in his career he collaborated on enterprise initiatives in Sweden, France, Germany and Italy, sharing best practice in business support across Europe. Building on that international experience, he more recently led the establishment of a new National Enterprise Network office in Leipzig, Germany — extending the UK's enterprise support model and NEN's international partnerships into the German market.
APPROACH
Colleagues and partners describe Alex as one of life's enthusiasts: energetic, ideas-driven and always looking for the next opportunity to move enterprise support forward. Whether working with a first-time founder in Ipswich, briefing a Select Committee in Westminster, or opening a new office in Leipzig, Alex brings the same underlying belief — that enterprise, given the right support, can transform lives and communities.