Enterprise Nation’s pioneering business support technology recognised in national IT industry awards

Enterprise Nation's pioneering proprietary business support technology has been recognised in a set of prestigious industry awards, announced last night.

The firm’s development and build of the pioneering tech platform that delivered Mastercard's Strike UK programme of support successfully targeted hard-to-reach entrepreneurs and impressed the judges in the Project of the Year category of the UK IT Industry Awards. 

Enterprise Nation’s 13-strong in-house tech team and tech-focused project managers successfully distilled more than a decade of practical business support knowledge into the private sector-funded Make a Plan (MAP) one stop shop that reached more than a million entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds. 

More than 60 per cent of the entrepreneurs reached were women. Entrepreneurs used the platform to get free access to training and support to tackle business challenges. 

Emma Jones, CBE, founder and CEO of small business support platform provider, Enterprise Nation, said:

“This was a beautiful project to work on, and so we are incredibly chuffed to have been highly commended in these prestigious awards for it. 

“When we built MAP, we were aiming to download more than a decade’s worth of practical business support experience into a single technology platform that could solve the key challenges that entrepreneurs face running and growing their businesses. From navigating complex regulatory frameworks and securing funding, to harnessing digital tools to reach new markets, we wanted to use technology to make all types of business support affordable and instantly accessible. 

“But we wanted to go further. We wanted to create a solution that was not only inclusive – but one that was designed with female and ethnic minorities founders in mind. These entrepreneurs are unfairly excluded from the opportunity and support enjoyed by others - so we knew we needed to go the extra mile to make this happen. 

“We also needed to demonstrate measurable results that could inform and shape future iterations to solve social challenges such as how to reach more BAME entrepreneurs or create effective female-friendly programme content.” 

Enterprise Nation was up against some stiff competition in its category, including Aviva, , Cynergy Bank and hospitality chain Whitbread.  

The UK IT Industry Awards are jointly owned by Computing and BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT and recognise the very best of the IT profession. 

Computing editor, Tom Allen, and BCS CEO, Rashik Parmar, welcomed the finalists before comedian, Tom Allen, took the stage to announce the winners. 

ENDS