Global Entrepreneurship Week was strongly featured at the StartUp 2012: The Enterprise Calendar event last week.

Andrew Devenport, Chief Executive of Youth Business International, previewed a new film about Global Entrepreneurship Week 2011, and shared some our plans for developing the campaign in 2012.

He explained that in 2012 we plan to develop the campaign by:

  • Building on our “start a conversation” idea, making it easier for aspiring and growing entrepreneurs to access the support that they need
  • Finding ways to raise the profile of the campaign and create even more excitement about the week and the possibilities of entrepreneurship
  • Engaging partners in early stages of the development of our campaign, to ensure that we build a campaign which meets the needs all across the UK.

Watch the film here:


The StartUp 2012 event was organised by StartUp Britain, an organisation created to promote business in the UK. The StartUp 2012 Enterprise Calendar is a new resource to help entrepreneurs find inspiration through enterprise events and initiatives around the country.

Hosted on the new StartUp Britain website, the Enterprise Calendar supports the new promotional campaign – the ‘Business in You’ – which was kicked off this week by the Government and StartUp Britain, the private sector initiative by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs.

One of the key aims of the Enterprise Calendar is to provide practical opportunities for aspirant entrepreneurs and those wishing to grow their own business to find content and ideas to inspire through relevant events.

Entrepreneurs and event organisers are being urged to upload their events onto the calendar on the StartUp Britain website, www.startupbritain.org.

StartUp 2012: The Enterprise Calendar was launched at an event hosted by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and will be chaired by the Minister for Business and Enterprise, Mark Prisk MP. The event looked at initiatives in three areas:

Going Global: unleashing the will to win
Going Places: ‘generation next’
Going for Gold: starting and growing in 2012

The initiative was responding to feedback from entrepreneurs who wanted to see more information in one place about the enterprise events to attend in Britain.

Minister for Business and Enterprise, Mark Prisk MP said:“We want 2012 to be the year of enterprise, where entrepreneurs can unlock their business potential. Enterprise events don’t just take place on one day, or during one week, but they appear throughout the year and across the country. We need to make sure people know that there is support and advice available, that it is easy to get, and it is often on their doorstep.

“The Government is committed to providing more opportunities for businesses to start and grow. We are continuing to increase the number of volunteers through the new national mentoring scheme and have launched an improved business link website. The enterprise calendar is a great addition in our support for business in 2012 and beyond.”

Rajeeb Dey, Co-Founder of StartUp Britain and Founder of Enternships.com, said:

“The Enterprise Calendar is about helping businesses go for it. It will shine a spotlight on the broad range of plentiful resources that exist for people wanting to start or grow a business in 2012. This will be a unique asset for small businesses to search for and find relevant events in their area and plan their year ahead. 2012 promises to be a very exciting year for enterprise – never has there been a better time to go for it in business.”