There is more to be done to smooth the path for future founders, but Britain should be proud of its strong pool of entrepreneurs, writes Timothy Barnes from Global Entrepreneurship Week
What is Global Entrepreneurship Week?
This is Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) and there are hundreds of events across the country to celebrate, train and showcase our incredible entrepreneurs.
GEW was born in the UK 18 years ago by then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown and now takes place each year with over 40,000 events in almost every country in the world engaging more than 10m people. Today, we are proud that the Centre for Entrepreneurs co-ordinates activity in the UK as part of our charitable mission to develop every aspect of UK entrepreneurship.
After the formal launch of the UK programme on Monday, we headed to the offices of Rathbones in the City for our first Entrepreneurship Summit, where successful entrepreneurs including Deborah Meaden, of Dragon’s Den fame, and Greg Jackson, of Octopus Energy, shared thoughts with City AM’s own Christian May and an audience of passionate startup advocates.
At the same time, in Hull, a very different kind of celebration saw the city’s Mayor launch the “£5 Blossom” challenge, where 13 groups from local schools work with local businesses on an enterprise project over the next five months.
Meanwhile, the British Library’s network of Business and IP Centres was already running workshops in London, Manchester and Liverpool that focused on those wanting to start a business for the first time all culminating in a fireside chat with fitness legend Joe Wicks.
These kinds of things are happening across the UK every day from 17 to 23 November.
Throughout the week, over 200 activities will take place under the GEW UK banner, from Belfast to Norwich and Exeter to Dundee. The UK is one of the best places in the world to start a business, but we too often find ways to underplay what really is a national strength.
There is always more to be done to smooth the path for future founders, but we should be proud of just how strong and capable our pool of entrepreneurs is in the UK and just how many great businesses they start and grow.
Ideas from the next gen
This Thursday afternoon we will have a chance to see some of the best and brightest of the latest generation of entrepreneurial talent with the finals of the Tata Varsity Pitch Competition, which showcases new businesses developed by students from universities and colleges across the UK. With finalists covering digital communities, health foods, lab tools to help find new medicines and even anti-drone ideas, there are some really strong propositions in the mix and £20,000 of prizes for them to compete over. Find the details here.
Entrepreneurship as a social good
This year, we want to use GEW to kick off a wider campaign that will launch soon to promote the idea that entrepreneurship is a social goobudged. Too many of us, particularly younger people, see entrepreneur stereotypes in the media and online who exemplify the worst when the overwhelming majority of founders are working hard to solve problems, create wealth and pay taxes, which we all need for the economy to thrive and for government to have the funds needed for vital services. Interested? Please email us at socialgood@centreforentrepreneurs.org
Ringing in Monday morning
We kicked off Global Entrepreneurship Week UK 2025 by opening the market at the London Stock Exchange, alongside John Cotterell, founder and CEO of Endava and a true champion of entrepreneurship in the UK. John was celebrating the launch of Dava.Rise, their in-house venture acceleration programme to help new tech companies find the big corporate customers they need to succeed. LSE CEO Julia Hoggett underlined the importance of new companies for the health of the market and LSE’s work bringing private and public capital together to fund them.
Quote of the Week
To help entrepreneurship thrive further, we must continue to build supportive ecosystems, connecting entrepreneurs with capital, mentorship, and opportunity.
Lord Bilimoria, founder of Cobra Beer, gives one of more than 20 recommendations collated for GEW and shared on socials each day.
A recommendation
This Monday was a little hectic with us getting to the LSE, but most Mondays I start the week walking to our office with the Prof G Pod by Scott Galloway. It’s actually a whole family of podcasts, but the one I like best is “No Mercy/No Malice”, a weekly thought piece from the man himself. There’s usually some incredible entrepreneurial thoughts and observations that I often find myself quoting later in the week. His other shows cover topics from China to personal finance and life choices. I had a chance to meet him last summer and he is everything in-person that you would expect from listening to him! Just search for “Prof G”.
Timothy Barnes is CEO of Centre for Entrepreneurs