As Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) reaches a close, it has been suggested that the UK is  at the forefront of the entrepreneurial race.

Lord Bilimoria, founder an chairman of Cobra Beer, delivered the opening speech for GEW from the Barclay’s Escalator, stating that:

“Once entrepreneurship is in your system, you have that fire in your belly and it never goes away. One can’t help but agree given that we only have one per cent of the globe’s population, but are ‘still at the top table of the world.’

“One of our great strengths as a country is that we have one of the most open economies in the world. London, even after the crash, is still the financial centre of the world. The UK is the global headquarters of entrepreneurship.

“This is our opportunity to send a message to the world that Britain is still great. Whether it’s in design, professional services, beer, aerospace, manufacturing, we’re still at the top table of the world.

“The most common quality entrepreneurs have is guts to stick with it when others would give up.”

This stamina and determination is quite verifiably a hallmark of British business, with entrepreneurs moving out of survival mode, confidence and growth is on the increase.

Lord Bilimoria also stated that business starters don’t need to rewrite the book in order to succeed and “it’s better to fail doing the right thing than succeed doing the wrong thing.”

Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Vince Cable was also quick to praise the ingenuity of UK’s expanding entrepreneurial landscape:

“Thousands of young people are now successfully putting their creativity, drive and aspiration into setting up their own business. Private sector growth has been key to our recovery and the Government has put in place a range of measures to enable young entrepreneurs to turn their dreams into reality.

“[After the last 30 years] there is now more of an entrepreneurial frame of mind in the UK.

“Years ago, the idea of having your own business was a strange one,” said Cable before explaining that employers are now “at the root of helping the country to get out of a very bad place.”

The latest figures issued by the Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI) demonstrate that the UK has climbed five places over the last three years from number nine to number four in the global rankings, with 2014 marking a high point for the UK in the history of the index.

Despite these successes, the 2015 GEI report says that:

“Entrepreneurial aspirations – a measure of how innovative, risk-taking and internationally oriented UK entrepreneurial ventures are – remains a relative weak spot compared to other leading countries.”

Vince Cable countered, saying:

“My advice to young entrepreneurs is to try and realise your dreams as this generation has fantastic opportunities.”

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Words: Peter Cribley