The Sunday Take: A stronger entrepreneurial culture in Britain today can help drive opportunity.

By Matthew McPherson, Director of Policy and Public Affairs

Small business is the backbone of Britain’s economy - from independent market traders, to home start-ups - Small and Medium Sized Enterprises now account for 60% of the UK’s employment, and half of turnover in the private sector.

Extending enterprise is a key part of the role of the Purpose Coalition, as Purpose Goal 9, and this week we were delighted to welcome Minister for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business Kevin Hollinrake MP for a roundtable discussion with leading Members of the Purpose Business Coalition, in association with Young Enterprise. 

In Britain today, we often think of bringing investment to communities externally, but enabling people to create their own jobs can be the most powerful way of driving opportunity. However, growing up in the North East, I saw first hand the need to instill an entrepreneurial culture into society. In my hometown, starting your own business can too often be seen as high risk, seen as something ‘other people do’, whilst getting a job for somebody else is seen as the logital thing to do. 

It was a little over a decade ago - whilst at school - that I became familiar with Young Enterprise, as an opportunity to start your own business. It can be seen as a daunting task, but if we can embed the social norm of entrepreneurship across our country, it can be a powerful opportunity to drive social mobility. 

Young Enterprise,  established in 1962, has benefited over 7 million young people to start their own business, and develop confidence, attitudes and employability skills. This week’s roundtable put the ideas of applied learning at the forefront of the agenda - the idea that whilst learning in school is good, putting those skills into real world practice is the best way to demonstrate your potential to employers. Earlier this year, Young Enterprise published their new report ‘What Applied Learning Really Looks Like’, highlighting case studies to show teachers and policymakers how applied learning can be integrated into school timetables and across the curriculum. 

As Purpose Goal 9, Enterprise is a vital part of the work of the Purpose Coalition, and across our vast range of Members, there are organisations going above and beyond to provide the advice and skills people need to start and grow their business. 

Solent University, in Southampton, is a shining example of a Purpose Coalition university that backs small businesses. The university allows students to apply for grant funding of up to £3,000 through the Solent Entrepreneurs Scheme, alongside business advice from the university’s business network. Entrepreneurship is in Solent’s DNA, with Dragon’s Den star Theo Phaphitis serving as the University’s Vice Chancellor. 

For small businesses, one of the most difficult challenges is getting a bank account. That’s why Virgin Money, another key Purpose Coalition Member, has made it a priority to support start ups and SMEs through collaborative support, Virgin Money ‘Access Meetups’ to allow SME owners to network with inspirational business founders, as well as ScaleUp events to gain essential knowledge about how to grow a business for the future. As the Minister himself acknowledged in the roundtable, the UK does well at start-ups, but growth is a much bigger challenge, and we need innovative schemes, such as Virgin Money’s Scale Up, to help fix that. 

Later this month, the Purpose Coalition will publish its latest report, in association with SME for Labour, to identify ways in which a potential future Labour government can go even further, and embed entrepreneurship at the heart of its programme for government through a new framework of localised support for SMEs, restoring the role of the government’s Enterprise Champion, growth and social mobility.

Extending enterprise, and instilling a stronger entrepreneurial culture, is an essential part of the work of the Purpose Coalition, and in boosting social mobility. If we embed entrepreneurship as the norm, we can help people gain new skills and new opportunities to improve their lives for the better. Working together with our wide and diverse range of partners, extending enterprise is, and will continue to be at the heart of our agenda.