X-Road Worthy
Happy New Year!
2020 is going to be even bigger and better (this is quite something, given what we achieved last year).
In case you’re new to us (or need a recap), we work to change policies to support Britain’s entrepreneurs. Whether this is around areas like tax, investment, visas, regulations, or broader issues impacting the ecosystem like the education system, transport or housing, we will continue to be the leading voice for entrepreneurs in the public policy debate.
(To give you a flavour of what’s to come, below Annabel Denham has an update on the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Entrepreneurship and Female Founders Forum, and Sam Dumitiu gives you a taste of some of the research we have planned.)
We don’t think supporting entrepreneurship should be an end in itself; we do this because entrepreneurs are the key driver for innovation, employment and economic growth, which improves the lot of everyone. Entrepreneurs are the lead actors in solving the world’s problems, making everyone wealthier, healthier and happier.
But entrepreneurs don’t do this alone. They need advisers and employees to realise their vision, and they need the right laws and institutions in place. And so, for better or worse, the quality of governments matters. That’s why I’ve written for CapX on why we should be optimistic about ambitions to radically reform the way the government interacts with entrepreneurs.
I take Estonia as a model for what can be achieved. Within a generation it went from having limited internet access to a cutting edge digital state, with people able to securely pay tax (e-Tax), vote (i-Voting), store their health records (e-Health), and even live and run a business remotely (e-Residency). The prize for success is significant: it is estimated that X-Road, the keystone of Estonian digital society, saves business owners around 12 million hours every year.
Update from Annabel
A new Parliament means a reformed APPG for Entrepreneurship, and while Seema Malhotra MP will remain Chair with Dr Lisa Cameron MP as her Vice, we’re busy inviting new faces to join (around a fifth of the new intake are former business owners). We’re excited to announce that Katherine Fletcher MP, Rob Roberts MP, Jerome Mayhew MP, James Daly MP and Saqib Bhatti MP have already agreed to get involved.
The APPG will continue in its mission of informing politicians on what is needed to create the most favourable conditions for entrepreneurship, opening a dialogue between policymakers and business owners.
The Female Founders Forum continues to grow. At the end of the year, I was on Sky News discussing the need for role models for young girls and we will continue to shed a light on all these women have achieved to inspire and encourage more to follow suit. Importantly, we will be taking our events across the country, reaching out to entrepreneurs across the regions. If you’re a female entrepreneur – particularly in the healthtech or agritech spheres – and want to get involved, drop me a line.
Update from Sam
Last year was The Entrepreneurs Network’s biggest year yet for research with notable reports on the massive impact of immigrant entrepreneurs in the UK, the link between management and productivity, the huge strides made by female founders, and the entrepreneurial ambitions of Britain’s young people. 2020 is set to be even bigger.
As we’re planning on being even more productive this year, it is fitting that we’ll be kicking off with research looking at SME productivity, in particular, the link between it and digital adoption. The report will explain how we can turbo-charge SME digital adoption and make the UK a world leader in digital business. Sticking with the theme of productivity, we’ll also be looking at a range of factors that affect it – from business dynamism to the local determinants of productivity.
Last year, we found that over half (51%) of British young people (aged 14-25) have thought about starting (or already have started) a business, but while entrepreneurial intention is widespread, the know-how to make it a reality isn’t. That’s why we’ll be looking at the way entrepreneurship is taught (if at all) in schools.
We’re also going to be working with a new foundation to cover a range of issues, from how policymakers can harness the power of entrepreneurship to tackle environmental challenges to better tracking the social and economic contribution of SMEs and unlocking more investment for early-stage businesses.
Smarter for ten (or fewer)
Our good friends at the Small Business Charter, in partnership with a consortium of 15 business schools, has been awarded BEIS and Innovate UK funding to support microbusinesses to explore digital and new technologies that could help them grow. The programme offers fully funded opportunities for business owners employing fewer than ten people, and they have asked us to spread the word. Find out more here.