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Campaign wants 500,000 new startups this year

The StartUp Britain programme aims to see 500,000 UK businesses start in 2013, as it begins a nationwide bus tour.

The enterprise campaign has the backing of the Business Secretary, Vince Cable, and is supported by firms such as PayPal and BT.

Following a record 484,211 businesses started in 2011 the campaigners are aiming to boost levels this year.

Dr Cable said: “There are a record number of start-ups and small businesses in the UK, even in tough times. There is also plenty of government help and support to start your own business. So if you’ve ever thought about it then I encourage you to take the next step and make it a reality.

“The StartUp Britain bus will bring direct advice to budding entrepreneurs across the country. Its advisers can tell you how to get a Start-Up Loan, or how to find out about mentoring.”

The StartUp Britain tour bus will visit 25 towns and cities across the UK to highlight resources and support available to entrepreneurs.

StartUp Britain co-founder Emma Jones said: “Since we launched StartUp Britain two years ago, we’ve seen record numbers of people starting businesses and creating their own value in the UK.

“By taking our bus around towns and cities in England, Scotland and Wales, we want to give people the confidence to find their inner entrepreneur – and provide a boost to their own local economy.”

PayPal’s Mark Brant said: “PayPal is proud to be a founding sponsor of StartUp Britain, which does a great job supporting Britain’s newest entrepreneurs – as well as helping boost the economy.

“It’s very encouraging to see how many people have started their own businesses since StartUp Britain was launched in 2011. The online revolution has made it easier than ever for people to set up their own business – you can be trading in minutes. So there’s never been a better time to become your own boss.”

StartUp Britain run a “StartUp tracker” which counts the number of registered new businesses each day.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .