Enterprise in the UK still thriving

With Global Entrepreneurship Week in full swing, Node4, a company led by young entrepreneur Andrew Gilbert says the high-tech related activities are an encouraging sign of investment in the future.

Global Entrepreneurship week has begun and will run until 20^th November with a range of activities, events and festivals celebrating entrepreneurial businesses and encouraging the next generation of business leaders. In the UK, the week is hosted by Youth Business International.

The week, which was founded in 2008 by Enterprise UK and the Kauffman Foundation, features a number of activities including the Entrepreneurs Festival, a week-long series of events aimed at entrepreneurs and start ups in the high-tech industry.

Global Entrepreneurship Week comes days after David Cameron announced that he would pump an extra £95 million into the Regional Growth Fund to support SMEs, which will in turn unlock £500 million of new investment across the country.

Andrew Gilbert, Managing Director of data centre and communications specialist Node4, said “The technology sector is an area that will be a major area of growth that could create jobs at a time when much of the job market is contracting.

“It’s great that there’s recognition of the potential within the technology sector as young entrepreneurs offer a lot to the expansion of our economy. We know from the growth plans of Node4 that opportunities are opening up that will provide new jobs for skilled workers. And as more companies appreciate the value of the innovations taking place in the technology sector, this growth will continue further.”

Case study of prolific enterprise

With Andrew Gilbert at the helm, Node4 has grown over the space of 7 years to become one of the fastest growing data centre companies in the UK, with a turnover of £11 million. Last night, the company attended the prestigeous awards ceremony for the  The Sunday Times Tech Track Top 100 companies for the second consecutive year. A young entrepreneur himself, Andrew started his business at age 23.

He continued, “There’s a lot of doom and gloom in the employment market with the latest unemployment stats painting a bleak picture. However, those who have thrived despite the difficult conditions and have opened up new vacancies should be applauded. Investment isn’t just needed to create new businesses; it is also needed to strengthen the existing infrastructure so next generation IT services can be delivered throughout the UK. This is an important time for business as more firms move to cloud based platforms. The sector as a whole should be equipped to provide them the tools they need to make the transition.”

ENDS