Young Entrepreneurs are the Lifeblood of the Future Economy .

MENTA, the Mid Anglian Enterprise Agency is supporting Enterprise Week 2006. The week long event is reportedly the UK’s biggest ever celebration of all things enterprising and takes place between 13-19 November 2006.

Locally, MENTA is inviting people either new to business or even just thinking about starting their own business to visit a free drop-in session at Palace House, Palace Road in Newmarket, behind the Rutland Arms Hotel on Wednesday 22 November between 4pm and 7.00pm.

In harmony with both the Enterprise Week and the year round Make Your Mark campaign, MENTA works to inspire every one of all ages, including the young. It supports and informs with next steps information and advice. It encourages networking and connects people to each other and aims to guide and prepare small businesses through core skills training courses.

Enterprise Week supporters state it is y oung talent that helps the British economy, diversifies our commercial offerings, and moulds our future society. Indeed, according to the Northeastern University, School of Technological Entrepreneurship Survey, 42% of business people questioned set up their first venture during childhood, with a further 33% starting up between the ages of 18 and 30.

With thousands of events planned across the whole country, this year’s Enterprise event is likely to be bigger and better than ever with new initiatives, challenges and opportunities for schools, colleges, businesses and anyone interested in encouraging young people to make their ideas happen.

Highlights of this year’s events include:

• Enterprising Britain – the Debate. This will launch Enterprise Week 2006 on Monday 13 November 2006.
• Make Your Mark Challenge which is specifically designed to kick-start imaginations and unleash creativity, as young people personally experience what it takes to turn an idea into reality.
• The first ever Ideas at Work Day on Tuesday 14 November, which focuses on encouraging creativity within the workplace.
• Women’s Enterprise Day , on Wednesday 15 November.
• Social Enterprise Day , on Thursday 16^th November. Make Your Mark: Change Lives will be launched to inspire young people to use enterprising ideas for social and environmental change.
• Speednetwork the Nation : the UK’s biggest simultaneous ideas exchange will take place on Friday 17 November. From sky divers and dinner ladies through to university clubs and secondary school students absolutely anyone can take part.
• Exceptional Youth – a photographic exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery of young authors, musicians, campaigners, scientists and sportsmen and women, who represent the countless young people in Britain today who are talented, focused, driven and inspired

Last year Enterprise Week reported that over 408,000 people attended 2,215 different events across the UK, which were supported by 3,874 businesses.

Kevin Steele, Chief Executive of Enterprise Insight who runs the Make Your Mark campaign, said “Enterprise Week is about inspiring young people to turn their ideas into reality. In the future their passport to success will be a sense of adventure. The danger is not that they aim to high and fail, but that they aim too low and succeed.”