Hull marks 23 years of youth enterprise as global week returns

By Nathan Brooks

Global Entrepreneurship Week says more than 10 million people participate each year across over 40,000 events in 200 countries.

For nearly two decades, the campaign has promoted entrepreneurship as a route to problem-solving, economic participation and prosperity, particularly in communities beyond traditional start-up hubs. The events expand access to skills, networks, capital and collaboration founders need.

Global Entrepreneurship Week celebrates and empowers new founders, especially those facing structural barriers or those who may never have considered entrepreneurship. The Hull and East Yorkshire Youth Enterprise Partnership will mark 23 years of involvement with events from November 16-20 under the theme “Entrepreneurs Thrive Here.”

Ross Bennett, chair of Hull and East Yorkshire Youth Enterprise Partnership, said: “Over the years, Hull and East Yorkshire has always demonstrated a commitment to engaging with enterprising young people and sharing good practice with colleagues across the UK and the rest of the world.”

He said the local youth enterprise ecosystem continues to advocate entrepreneurship and enterprise skills through Elevate @ The Mark Jones MBE Centre, while the Commonwealth Partnership extends that work internationally. Bennett welcomed Lord Sonny Leong CBE’s visit and noted that Lord Leong would meet young entrepreneurs and representatives of the Microbusiness Alliance.

A week built around school-age enterprise

The partnership says activities will run every day, including conferences and challenges for young people in education. The Badgers Sett Enterprise Challenge will return. Ruth Badger, the former BBC Apprentice star who created the contest, designed it for participants from primary school through those already running a business to pitch an enterprising idea.

THUD Yorkshire and the annual Hull and East Yorkshire Youth Enterprise Awards will celebrate aspiring young entrepreneurs. Hull’s Guildhall will host a primary school and secondary school enterprise skills conference. The Adam Corbally Video Enterprise Challenge will serve aspiring entrepreneurs from Hull and East Yorkshire, South Tyneside and Scarborough.

Public backing and peer support

At the end of the week, Lord Sonny Leong CBE, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, will visit Hull.

He plans to meet young entrepreneurs from Hull and East Yorkshire who have received support through the Making Changes for Careers (MC4C) programme and the John Cracknell Youth Enterprise Bank (JCYEB).

He will also join Emma Hardy MP at Primary Enterprise Day in the Guildhall.

Liz Barclay, the former Small Business Commissioner and now Patron of the JCYEB, framed the week’s practical role:

“Global Entrepreneurship Week in Hull and East Yorkshire serves as an opportunity to celebrate and spotlight young entrepreneurs, inform policymakers and practitioners with new insights, expose young people to the path of entrepreneurship, and facilitate access to finance and resources to help young entrepreneurs start and grow.”

She called the global model “inspirational” and said Hull and East Yorkshire should apply it to local businesses. She added that current and future young entrepreneurs and enterprising young people in schools are “the building blocks of our future success as a country.”

Barclay also announced three new youth enterprise ambassadors: Alex Spark and Rand Nessif of Heuro Studios, and Kai Ingram of Musefuze Studios. All three have received financial support from the JCYEB and receive support from Hull City Council’s MC4C programme.

Support and sponsorship for the local week come from:

• Engaging Education; T Arran Photography; C4DI; the John Cracknell Youth Enterprise Bank (JCYEB); The Hull Story.
• Jordan Smith Mortgage & Protection Advisor; Design Over Technology; Enterprise Days.
• East Riding Council; Hull City Council; Yorkshire in Business; Crossing Paths CIC in South Tyneside.

The program will also benefit two charities associated with young people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy:

• Action for Ashley
• Joy for Joel

Further information is available at www.gewhull.co.uk. The week’s hashtags are #GEWHull, #GEWUK, #GEW2026 and #EntrepreneursThriveHere.

What changes for young founders?

For young founders, the practical change is a route from a classroom idea to a pitch, recognition, enterprise support and access to finance and resources.

For teachers, mentors and local businesses, the program concentrates outreach into five days. The council-backed MC4C programme and JCYEB support give participants an institutional route to continued help.

Lord Leong’s visit connects the local program with national government. The next measure is follow-through after November 20: whether participants gain sustained access to finance, mentors and enterprise programs. The announcement sets no targets for company launches, financing or jobs, leaving organizers to show whether the November visibility becomes lasting business support.