The Sir Thomas White Loan Charity was proud to sponsor DMUworks Enterprise’s first Leicestershire Entrepreneurship Day, which took place at De Montfort University on Tuesday 5 November as part of the city-wide Leicester Business Festival.
Providing an opportunity for predominantly young entrepreneurs within the city to learn from some of Leicester’s renowned names in business, the successful event was opened by The Sir Thomas White Loan Charity’s patron – and one of the county’s most successful businessmen – Barrie Stephen.
Throughout the day, those in attendance were able to hear from a variety of speakers, who each touched on subjects that could provide insight for anybody keen to set out on their own business venture. From places to work through to forming a business plan and – thanks to The Sir Thomas White Loan Charity – funding, Leicestershire Entrepreneurship Day truly had something for everybody at varying stages of their business life.
In addition to live speakers on the day, which included Cross Productions’ CEO, Jenny Cross, events MD Lou Holland, Leicester City Football Club assistant manager Chris Davies and Apprentice winner James White; insightful interviews with broadcaster Edith Bowman and musician and entrepreneur Ronan Keating were also aired to the audience.
There was also a talk delivered by The Sir Thomas White Loan Charity Chair of Trustees, David Howard, who provided attendees with the background and key information regarding the charity’s unique interest-free business loans. Prior to that, a panel consisting of the charity’s three ambassadors – Hannah Myatt, Steff Lee and Lee Tomes – delivered the background of their businesses and how The Sir Thomas White Loan Charity’s investment helped.
“It has been so inspiring,” said Lauren Robinson, a third year Business and Management student. “Hearing from people who have been there and done it, about their journeys, and what they have faced, has given me so much to think about in the way you approach life.”
Himanshu Garg, a student on the Entrepreneurship and Innovation course, said: “This day has been incredible. It has given me confidence to implement my business idea and set goals.”
The event was organised by Simon Baines, Enterprise Project Manager, as part of DMU’s work to support and encourage students who want to start their own businesses.
The event was organised by Simon Baines, Enterprise Project Manager, as part of DMU’s work to support and encourage students who want to start their own businesses.
Simon said: “We want all DMU students and graduates to know that the DMUworks Enterprise team are here to support and inspire them in developing entrepreneurial skills, whether or not they currently have ambitions to start a business. Our new events like Entrepreneurship Day, Enterprise Podcast LIVE and our forthcoming TEDx are integral to this.”
David Howard, Chair of Trustees at The Sir Thomas White Loan Charity, added: “We were delighted to sponsor Leicestershire Entrepreneurship Day, which was a fantastic event for anybody within the county interested in 
business. The insight provided by some terrific speakers will be invaluable to those in attendance and I hope that, coupled with support from The Sir Thomas White Loan Charity, it will help some of those people’s businesses ideas become a successful reality.”
For more information about The Sir Thomas White Loan Charity’s interest-free business loans, please click here
Alternatively, please click here for more on DMUworks.