The UK needs to create an ecosystem that nurtures and encourages entrepreneurship and small start-up businesses in order to drive continued economic growth. As it is global entrepreneurship week next week, I took the opportunity today in the house of congratulating the Government on its progress so far in achieving these goals, and highlighted the great work of NACUE in supporting the growth of enterprise societies, particularly among young people.

From next week until the 18th November, ‘Silicon Valley Comes to the UK’ will also be running a series of events that aim to inspire, discuss, create, and fund the UK entrepreneurs and technologies of tomorrow, and I am delighted to have been invited to launch of the Cambridge2U (C2U) data-driven business directory on Friday as part of these events. It is fantastic to see the huge success of the Cambridge Cluster - which contains ten different billion dollar companies, including a number in the life-science sector, and employs 53,000 people - highlighted and made more accessible by C2U. Following Lord Heseltine’s report which drew attention to the power of city regions in driving economic growth, the Cambridge Cluster is hub of innovation the UK should be proud of and one I will continue to champion in Parliament.

For more information on global entrepreneurship week follow this link

For more information on NACUE follow this link

You can find out more about the ‘Silicon Valley Comes to the UK’ and the Cambridge2U by following the links or reading the post on my Innovation Blog

Lord Heseltine’s report ‘No stone left unturned in pursuit of growth’ can be read here and my take on it can be found on the Innovation Blog