Partner Article

Enterprise campaign marks months of success

A North East enterprise campaign is taking opportunity of national Enterprise Week 2008 to celebrate its success so far.

The ‘If we can, you can’ campaign, run by the Entrepreneurs’ Forum, is a three-year drive aimed at stimulating and encouraging an entrepreneurial spirit in the region by inspiring people to think about, start or grow their businesses.

The ‘If we can, you can’ Challenge marked the start of the campaign in March and the three month competition aimed at inspiring entrepreneurs saw 14 entrants reach the finals and seven winners crowned across the region as the Faces of Entrepreneurship 2009.

The Challenge attracted close to 150 entries from would be and established entrepreneurs and another 170 profiles on the campaign website www.ifwecanyoucan.co.uk. The competition also struck a chord with the public with over 2,000 votes cast to decide the seven sub regional winners.

‘If we can, you can’ has created a virtual community of over 300 like-minded entrepreneurs to inspire budding entrepreneurs, share experiences and support each other.

Challenge winners Michelle Taylor of Michelle Taylor Design and Matt Scott of MES Footwear are starring in a documentary about their lives as entrepreneurs.

Carole Beverley, chief executive of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum said: “We have had a fantastic start to the campaign which already has positioned itself among the most successful the region has seen.

“The achievements of the Challenge winners and ambassadors to date are a credit to their self belief and determination. After the success of the first Challenge we will be running another next year with the hope of inspiring another generation of entrepreneurs to bolster the North East’s entrepreneurial presence.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .