Government to launch StartUp Britain business scheme

News Article - 06 April 2011
Category: Business

Prime Minister David Cameron is to launch the Government's StartUp Britain scheme with the aim of encouraging entrepreneurs to start their own business.

The initiative is to provide new enterprises with up to £1,500 worth of help towards IT training and internet advertising. Major firms such as AXA, Barclays, Google, Intel, Microsoft and many more are supporting the scheme as Mr Cameron encourages the nation to "make that step and strike out on their own".

The Prime Minister added: "There are thousands of people out there who are entrepreneurs but they just don't know it yet. There are millions of success stories that haven't been written yet.

"So seize the moment. Take these opportunities. Make it happen - and together we can drive our economy forward."

Following a previous Government estimate of 2.1 per cent economic growth in 2011, the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has forecast a growth of 1.7 per cent - a slightly down on expectations.

The aim of StartUp Britain is to enable the private sector to lead the economic recover "with Made in Britain stamped all over it".

The Government has gone to great lengths to ensure it does its bit to drive the recovery, but there is only so much the state can do to ease the burden on business. There has never been a greater incentive for entrepreneurs sitting at home or at their desk to start their own business.

The launch of StartUp Britain follows the 23^rd March Budget from Chancellor George Osborne, which set about raising entrepreneurial tax relief and creating new enterprise zones with tax breaks. Meanwhile Mr Osborne has promised less red tape for SMEs with a view to improving the efficiency of financial tasks. Many businesses now use accounts software in a bid to improve workload efficiency.

Following the March Budget the UK was quickly labelled as a "world-class place to launch new businesses" by a group of leading venture capitalists.

Indeed, new investment rules introduced by Mr Osborne enabled investors to place greater funds into start-up companies to stimulate business growth.

Article keywords: Prime Minister, David Cameron, StartUp Britain, Office for Budget Responsibility, OBR, Chancellor George Osborne

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