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£10,000 up for grabs for budding Bransons

YOUNG entrepreneurs in the region have been given the chance to compete for a £10,000 prize to boost their business.

The Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, which celebrates the achievements of the UK’s leading young entrepreneurs, is now open for entries.

The award offers up-and-coming business owners aged 16-30 the opportunity for national recognition, as well as a substantial financial boost of £10,000 for their business.

Shell LiveWIRE is one of Britain’s longest running youth entrepreneur awards and was established in 1982 as a Shell Social Investment Programme. Previous winners and finalists include successful entrepreneurs Robert Matthams from Shiply.com and Jamie Murray-Wells from Glasses Direct.

Innocent Smoothies won the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Greater London Final in 2000 – the company’s first ever business award. Innocent has since grown from 4 staff to over 200, and now has a turnover of £128m.

Recent polling by Shell LiveWIRE of its online business community suggests entrepreneurism continues to thrive in the UK in spite of the challenging external environment.

Two thirds (66%) of those polled expect their business to grow this year and one third (32%) plan to hire new staff. Additionally, a quarter (25%) of business owners say the recession has actually inspired them to refocus their business vision and challenged them to identify new areas of growth.

The 2009 winner of the Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Robert Matthams, founded Shiply.com, a transport website matching people moving goods with delivery companies already making similar journeys.

Since winning the award, Shiply.com has grown by 200%, expanding its customer base to over 14,000 transport companies and 120,000 consumers. This has helped save more than 10 million unnecessary road miles.

James Smith, Chairman of Shell UK, said:“Entrepreneurial spirit is vital to getting our economy going again. The Shell LiveWIRE award can provide a very timely boost to Britain’s entrepreneurs.”

The deadline for applications to the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award is 5pm on September. To qualify for entry, applicants must be aged 16-30 and have been trading not less than three months and not more than 18 months on 6th September 2010.

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