RUNNING THE GAUNTLET 2007 GATHERS PACE

Nearly two hundred (181) of the region's most ambitious entrepreneurs have now risen to the challenge of the East of England Development Agency's (EEDA) 'running the gauntlet' investment competition and education programme.

Entries from Cambridgeshire make up the largest share with 31.5% of all entrants, followed by Norfolk (21.5%), Hertfordshire (15%), Suffolk (14%), Essex (9.5%) and Bedfordshire (8.5%).

Women entrepreneurs account for a third of total entries. As a percentage of entries from each county Norfolk and Suffolk are performing most strongly among women entrants (38% each) followed by Cambridgeshire (31.5%,) then Essex and Hertfordshire (29% each) and Bedfordshire (20%).

But with the deadline just over a month away (midnight 2 September) the region's entrepreneurs continue to sign up. Many do so in pursuit of the learning and networking opportunities available. Others have their sights set on gaining equity funding from the competition's four investors (CREATE, NW Brown, SEP and Low Carbon Accelerator) who are collectively offering up to £2m to be shared among investable businesses.

All entrants benefit from free access to 'The Gauntlet' (normally costing £299); the virtual tool devised by Library House and the London School of Economics which provides an assessment of investment readiness with an analysis on the strengths and weaknesses of the entrepreneurs business case. Entrants who register before 2 August can increase their learning opportunity by 'running' twice before the entry deadline of 2 September. This will enable them to learn from and act on the feedback in The Gauntlet report card after a delay of 30 days to repeat the exercise.

A shortlist of 50 companies will be announced on 12 September. These will benefit from the next stage of the education programme which draws on £250,000 worth of advice and services from the competition's commercial partners: Bailey Fisher, Cambridge Marketing College, Grant Thornton, HSBC, Microsoft UK, Mudhut Communication, Sagentia, Taylor Vinters and The Commercialisation Company.

'Running the gauntlet' culminates at EEDA's business conference, Destination Growth on 6 November where investment plans will be announced (subject to due diligence).

Richard Ellis, chairman of EEDA said:
"With 'running the gauntlet' now in its third year it is encouraging to see that demand for the programme remains strong. The East of England is highly innovative and the numbers coming forward for this competition are a testament to this. We are delighted that more entrepreneurs are benefiting from the opportunities this competition presents and especially pleased to see that more women are recognising this."

Dr Stephen Mahon, Chief Investment Officer, Low Carbon Accelerator (LCA) said:
"As a leading investor specialising in low carbon businesses I am pleased entries within the energy sector have increased over those last year. This is an international growth area and this region is in the forefront of its development triggered in part by the East of England commitment to producing 14% of the region's electricity from renewable sources by 2010. I am therefore hoping to see some strong investment propositions come out of this process."

For more information see www.runningthegauntlet.com

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