National Entrepreneurship Observatory

GEM 2006 Mid Wales Report

Study shows that Mid Wales is the most entrepreneurial region


GEM 2006 Mid Wales Report (English)
GEM 2006 Mid Wales Report (Cymraeg)

Entrepreneurship has a greater influence on the economy of Mid-Wales than any other Welsh region. This is one of the key findings of the unique Global Entrepreneurship Monitor study undertaken by Professor Dylan Jones-Evans and Professor David Brooksbank of the National Entrepreneurship Observatory for Wales.

The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) was begun established in 1997 as a joint initiative between Babson College and London Business School. It describes and analyses entrepreneurial activity across a large and growing range of nations. Through producing internationally comparable data on the entrepreneurial activity, the GEM study is unique as the only longitudinal study of entrepreneurship undertaken throughout the major nations of the World. The project is a joint initiative between European Structural Funds, the Welsh Assembly Government, the University of Glamorgan and Cardiff University.

In 2006, early stage entrepreneurial activity for Mid Wales was measured at 8.2 per cent. This It represents one of the highest levels of entrepreneurial activity across the UK and is higher than the early stage entrepreneurial activity index for Wales or any of the other regions i.e. South East Wales (4.7 per cent), South West Wales (6.1 per cent), and North Wales (5.7 per cent).

According to Professor Jones-Evans, this demonstrates the importance of entrepreneurship within a predominantly rural area trend and, given that the trend looks set to continue, policymakers should be looking at how such activity this can be further strengthened.

“The GEM study shows that the proportion of adults who are thinking of starting a business during the next three years is higher for Mid-Wales than for the average for Wales or the UK as a whole. This should not be too surprising as our research shows that one in five adults in the area are involved in starting and managing a new business or running an established business. Unlike last year, much of this entrepreneurial activity is being driven by males, although female entrepreneurship within the region is higher than the average for the UK.

“The study also shows that the highest entrepreneurial rate is found for in-migrants from other parts of the UK, which is higher than the rate for the rest of Wales. However, it must be noted that entrepreneurial activity rates for lifelong residents is also considerably higher for Mid Wales than for other Welsh regions.

According to Professor Brooksbank, the major barrier to encouraging entrepreneurial activity within the region remains that of raising money to start the business.

“Difficulties in obtaining finance is the major barrier faced by entrepreneurs in all regions, with two in five respondents claiming that access to funding prevents them from going into business. For those who obtain start-up capital, the most common source of funding for business start-ups remains bank overdrafts, followed by government grants. Certainly, if business in the region is to make the switch from lifestyle to growth, there will have to be a greater access to other types of business funds, most notably equity funding and business angels”.

Copies of the other regional reports can be found at www.neo-wales.com/publications

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