Prospective young entrepreneurs aged between 16 and 25 years old gathered in the Liberty Stadium in Swansea for the national festival of entrepreneurship recently.

Big Ideas Celebrated was attended by aspiring young entrepreneurs from youth and community groups as well as schools, colleges and universities and gave those interested in entrepreneurship an opportunity to learn from like- minded entrepreneurs and hear from experienced business people from across Wales.

Big Ideas Wales is the support service for young entrepreneurs aged 5 to 25, which forms part of the Welsh Government’s Business Wales Service, and is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund. The project works to raise aspirations for young people in Wales to develop an interest in entrepreneurship and provides business support and local Role Models and advisors to enable them to kick start their business ambitions.

A number of young entrepreneurs also exhibited at the event, showcasing their businesses and achievements in enterprise so far. This included a team of young businesspeople from Swansea University whose eco-friendly household product brand aims to reduce the use of plastics; and a clothing brand from Anglesey called Arfordir whose designs are inspired by their coastal surroundings.

Many of the young entrepreneurs who attended have also taken advantage of the other free events hosted by Big Ideas Wales including Bootcamp to Business, a three day residential event held twice a year in north and south Wales.

The event featured a number of keynote speakers, who were there to encourage and inspire the young audience, including Chris Nott from Welsh law firm Capital Law and Josh-Llewelyn Jones, an ultra-athlete from Cardiff, who has raised over £700,000 for cystic fibrosis charities.

Big Ideas Celebrated is supported by a number of organisations such as Admiral, NatWest Cymru and Swansea rugby club Ospreys.

Speaking about the event, Jo Garcia, head of partnerships and innovation at Admiral said:

“We’re really proud to support this event where young people from across Wales can show off and hone their entrepreneurial skills. The room was full of some extremely exciting young business talent who I am sure we will hear of again in the future.”

Cheryl Gourlay, NatWest’s national enterprise manager also commented:

“I’m always blown over by the inspiring young entrepreneurs that attend Big Ideas Celebrated and this year was no different. These young people have great passion and drive, and the variety of sectors on display today make it very exciting for the future of the Welsh economy.”

Would you like to learn more about what it means to work for yourself or start a business? For more information on the help available to young entrepreneurs get in touch at www.bigideas.wales or via social media @BigIdeasWales. Are you currently studying at college or university? Find out how your institution’s Enterprise Champion can help you with your ideas!