RE-ELECTED SNP GOVERNMENT WILL CREATE ENTREPRENEURIAL SCOTLAND

For immediate release: Monday 28^th March 2011

Attn: Newsdesks

Political correspondents

A re-elected SNP Government will support young entrepreneurs with a new national prize fund of £100,000.

The Youth Enterprise Scotland Challenge will be awarded to teams with the best and most creative ideas for a new business.

The £100,000 will be matched with £100,000 worth of mentoring and support for 10 finalists to develop their ideas.

A similar scheme at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has led to the creation of 130 new businesses and 2,500 jobs. http://www.mit100k.org/about/about/

The challenge will be included in the SNP’s manifesto.

Speaking about the plan SNP Finance Secretary John Swinney said:

“A re-elected SNP Government will help to build a culture of entrepreneurship for Scotland’s future.

“The SNP will give young people with great ideas the opportunity to turn those ideas into a reality and create new businesses in Scotland.  By matching £100,000 of funding with £100,000 worth of mentoring a new generation of Scottish entrepreneurs will have the chance to shine.

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"There is huge talent, enterprise and imagination among young folk in Scotland - the job of government is to help and incentivise it, and then the sky's the limit. Who knows, the person to come up with the next big idea such as Facebook or Google could be in Scotland right now, and this is a great policy to help realise the potential of our young generation, and bring bright business ideas to fruition here in Scotland."