MINISTER APPLAUDS CREAM OF THE EAST OF ENGLAND'S ENTREPRENEURS

Minister for the East of England, Barbara Follett MP congratulated the fifty entrepreneurs short-listed on 12 September in 'running the gauntlet', the East of England Development Agency's (EEDA) investment competition and education programme.

'Running the gauntlet 2007' which offers winners the prospect of a share in up to £2m equity funding from investors CREATE, Low Carbon Accelerator, NW Brown and SEP attracted over 300 entrants. Of these 26% came from Cambridgeshire, followed by Norfolk (19%), Hertfordshire and Suffolk (16% each) Essex (12%) and Bedfordshire (11%). This means that since it launched in 2005, 'running the gauntlet' has helped well over a thousand entrepreneurs from the East of England, with front-runners going on to attract many millions of pounds equity funding from investors.

The short-listed fifty now have the chance to refine their financial and business presentation techniques with two of the competition's commercial partners, HSBC and Mudhut Communication. This will be crucial preparation for their pitch to investors later this month and forms part of the ongoing education programme that lies at the heart of 'running the gauntlet'.

Barbara Follett MP, Minister for the East of England said:
"This combination of education and financial incentive is exactly what helps entrepreneurs get on the ladder to business success. This is good for them, good for the region and good for the country as a whole. It also reinforces the East of England's reputation as one of the UK's leading innovation centres. I applaud those who have made the 'running the gauntlet' short-list and wish them every success in the future."

Ten finalists will be announced on 9 October. They will then be open to greater scrutiny from the investors ahead of EEDA's Destination Growth event on 6 November where investment plans will be revealed (subject to due diligence).

Richard Ellis, chairman of EEDA said:
" 'Running the gauntlet' is a key component in our efforts to drive economic growth in this region. To have received over 300 entries is a very positive statement about the health of the region's entrepreneurial sector and builds on the competition's success over the last two years."

Doug Richard, chairman of the investors' panel said:
"Small businesses driven by gutsy entrepreneurs lie at the heart of a successful economy. I want to see more of them. The fifty entrepreneurs short-listed are to be congratulated, but they must keep focused on the job in hand. Let's see who makes it to the next stage."

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