When we were asked if the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) would consider sponsoring the Young Entrepreneur category at this year’s Enterprise Vision Awards (EVAs), it was an easy decision to make. We want to help change the culture of how women are seen and support them with access to business and career opportunities. In doing so, we hope to help support economic growth and social development in the region and influence the future of the skills development of young women, changing the perception for future progression.
Why are we sponsoring the Young Entrepreneur award?
We feel very strongly that it is important to recognise and promote the successes of outstanding local female entrepreneurs. We can help do that with our sponsorship and by promoting the finalists and winners through our own channels. We believe that by supporting people with an entrepreneurial mindset, we can:
- help their ideas grow
- inspire them to be the business leaders of the future
- encourage them to develop their workforce through training, upskilling, Degree Apprenticeships and professional development courses
- stimulate enterprise, innovation and business growth
- support young entrepreneurs to be more productive and innovative in the North West region
Helen Quayle of LaserHQ, winner of the 2022 Enterprise Vision Awards Young Entrepreneur Award
Why is collaboration with businesses important to the University?
We want young entrepreneurs to thrive. Of course, we’re always looking to collaborate with an influential cohort of people, in this case young female business leaders or those looking to be future stars. It’s also about engaging with local talent to enable them to have access to our various areas of business support, expertise, knowledge and facilities. We are a university, so we have a wealth of academics, students, graduates and experts who can assist enterprising young people to gain that competitive edge.
Collaborative partnerships play a crucial role in helping businesses to grow. With our strong reputation for applied business research, entrepreneurship, innovation and bringing academic excellence to life, we want to support young entrepreneurs as they start or continue their journey, helping them to improve their productivity and performance. The report by Alison Rose commissioned by the Treasury and published in 2019, stated that “up to £250 billion of new value could be added to the UK economy if women started and scaled new businesses at the same rate as UK men”. It made a number of recommendations to help female entrepreneurs reach their full potential. The Government then announced an ambition to increase the number of female entrepreneurs by half by 2030.
How will we support the winner of this award?
We work with over 7,500 businesses across the UK, so we’re used to supporting everyone from a new Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) to a large national organisation. We have a wide range of business support that can help the winner on their journey to success. As you would expect from a university, we offer high quality courses and professional qualification to people looking to develop their career. Our award-winning Centre for SME and Enterprise Development has a membership of over 1,800 SMEs and epitomises our commitment to being an outstanding, sector-leading entrepreneurial institution which is helping to generate a more productive and innovative SME sector in the area.
Membership is free and you can connect, collaborate and share best practice with others at business networking events, masterclasses and workshops. You’ll also have access to a co-working space at our Preston Campus for a small cost that includes not only the office space but also mentoring, start-up workshops and online resources.
We’re looking forward to connecting with the finalists of the Young Entrepreneur award, and we can’t wait to review the entries!
To find out more about our business support:
Visit our Centre for SME and Enterprise Development website
Or our general offer of business support website
Or call us on 01772 895500