Member Article

Mosaic Enterprise Challenge 2016 Yorkshire champions revealed

A team of young entrepreneurs from Dixons Kings Academy in Bradford has won the Yorkshire Regional Final of the 2016 Enterprise Challenge competition, a flagship education initiative driven by Mosaic, HRH The Prince of Wales’ mentoring charity.

‘Team Hand Up’ from Dixons Kings Academy beat stiff competition from teams Allerton High School, Lawnswood School, The South Leeds Academy and Moor End Academy in Huddersfield with their idea for recycling school stationery and electrical gadgets to sell on to students and those who are less privileged. All finalists had already beaten hundreds of students from other schools across Yorkshire to reach the final.

The competing teams pitched their ideas in a Dragons Den-style event to a prestigious panel of judges including Saker Nusseibeh, CEO of Hermes Investment Management, Griselda Togobo, owner of Forward Ladies, Ajaz Ahmed, founder of Legal365.com and Sara Pates, Head of Enterprise at the University of Sheffield.

Team Hand Up will now progress to the Enterprise Challenge Grand Final in London on 4th May where they will compete against winning schools from the North West, South East, West Midlands, London and Glasgow for the chance to become national champions.

The overall winning team will win a prize of £2,500 for their school plus a further £500 to invest in developing their business idea and making it a commercial reality. Previous winners have also enjoyed tea at 10 Downing Street and a unique tour of Clarence House.

The pupils said: “We can’t believe that we have just won the regional final! All of our efforts and hard work have paid off. We have had so much fun being involved in the Enterprise Challenge, to have won is the beyond belief. We can’t wait for our day in London! We are excited to present the finer details of our social enterprise idea at the national finals. Go Team Hand Up!!”

Leah Larkin, Mosaic’s Yorkshire Regional Manager, said: “Team Hand Up wowed the judges with their brilliant idea but I have to say that the standard of all the teams was extremely high. I am very proud that Yorkshire is home to so many brilliant young minds and I’m certain many will go on to be our business leaders of the future. A special thank you must go to our team of volunteer mentors who give up their time to coach, support and inspire the pupils taking part.”

Presenter and newsreader Mark Kielesz-Levine, who hosted the Yorkshire Regional Final, said: “What a fantastic event! All of the teams presented their ideas in a highly professional way and the judges must have had a tough job choosing the winner. I wish Team Hand Up the very best of luck for the Grand Final and I hope that they can bring the title back to Yorkshire.”

Run annually, Mosaic’s Enterprise Challenge is a national competition that aims to inspire knowledge, raise aspirations, confidence, self-efficacy and long-term employability among secondary school pupils from some of the most deprived communities across the UK. Supported by specialist, volunteer mentors from across the business community, students compete for six-weeks in an online business game where they must develop, market and sell a new product.

The Enterprise Challenge is generously sponsored nationally by Apax Foundation and Qatar Charity UK and supported by Totem Learning. Nael Faragy is the principal regional supporter. The Yorkshire Regional Final had local entrepreneur Victoria Tomlinson, CEO of Northern Lights, as guest speaker.

For more information on becoming a Mosaic mentor, please call 020 7566 8734 or email mosaic@bitc.org.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Mosaic .