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Posted: Wed 16th Sep 2026
4 min read
The Enterprise Nation Fund: Next Generation opens for applications on 16 September. It comes as concern mounts over the record number of 16- to 24-year-olds who are neither working nor studying.
One winner aged 18 to 24 will receive a £1,500 grant along with six hours of mentoring from an experienced entrepreneur. You do not need to already have a business – an idea is enough to enter.
About 750,000 people aged 16 to 24 in the UK are classed as NEET – not in education, employment or training. It is a figure that has become one of the more stubborn features of the UK labour market.
Enterprise Nation CEO Aaron Asadi said the organisation came across "thousands" of young people each year with strong business ideas but no clear route to acting on them.
He explained:
"The Next Generation fund is about removing that first barrier, giving one young person the money and the mentoring to take their idea seriously.
"With youth unemployment and NEET numbers stubbornly high, we think entrepreneurship deserves to be talked about as part of the solution, not an afterthought. You don't need a finished business plan to enter; you just need an idea and the drive to run with it."
Archie Shepperd, 21, left school at 16 unaware that the facilities management industry even existed. At 20, he founded his own company, Urban Standard.
Six months on, the business employs 12 people and holds contracts across 500 properties in the health and social care sector, from care homes to clinics treating brain injuries and addiction. It became self-funding within two months of launch.
Archie argued that the barriers facing young entrepreneurs are as much about education and visibility as money.
He described the school business curriculum as "quite outdated" and warned that many young people are left "vulnerable to people on Instagram saying you can make a Shopify shop and earn all this money when 99% aren't going to be able to do that."
His advice to would-be entrepreneurs is not to wait for a groundbreaking idea.
"If you have a simple idea and you do it really well, your business will be profitable," he said, adding that self-belief mattered more than experience.
"You don't 100% need to have had loads of experience."
The fund is open to anyone aged 18 to 24. You don't need a registered business, a business plan or trading history – just an idea and the drive to develop it.
Grant opens: 16 September
Grant closes: 12 October, 23:59
Applicants contacted: 15 October
Winner announced: 19 October
Got a big idea for your small business? Here's your chance to win a £1,500 grant along with six hours of mentoring from an experienced mentor. Enter to win!
