Make Your Mark Blog

Maurice Helfgott, Founder of Amery Capital Ltd., discusses his experience as a judge for the 2009 Enterprising Britain competition

As founder of investment and advisory firm, Amery Capital, whose investments include clothing store, Long Tall Sally, I was appointed a judge in this year’s Enterprising Britain competition and it has been a fantastic experience. I have now completed both of my judging visits and each has highlighted how passion and dedication can transform lives and communities. It is great to see projects demonstrating how working in partnership can create new and exciting opportunities.

Each year, Enterprising Britain seeks out the most enterprising place in the UK, somewhere which has improved the local climate for business by creating opportunities for residents to be enterprising.

In these tough economic times, the dedication and vision of the people involved in these projects is a real inspiration. Entrepreneurship is key to our journey out of the recession and will be crucial in building a strong economy for the future.

The project I visited in the South West is run by The University of Plymouth, which is taking a leading role in the area’s social, economic and cultural development. It is fully engaged and working in partnership with a variety of organisations and agencies across the city. The university has developed a wide range of projects targeted to create an impact and raise levels of aspiration and quality of life.

In the East of England NWES, a local enterprise agency in Lowestoft, was set up to reduce disadvantage by encouraging enterprising activity and self employment. NWES is about finding ways to give real benefits to both individuals and the community so that it is no longer dependant on just a few major employers, but offers a range of employment opportunities throughout the area.

Both projects I visited have successfully created jobs, reduced unemployment and attracted inward investment. The knowledge and experience they have will prove a vital aid for stimulating economic recovery and I wish them the best of luck in the competition.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 3rd, 2009 at 11:59 am and is filed under East of England, Enterprising Britain, Enterprising places, take control. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.