Press Release

UK continues to slip in quality of entrepreneurial environment, findings from Global Entrepreneurship Monitor

The United Kingdom’s score in the National Entrepreneurial Context Index (NECI) continues to fall, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2023/2024 Report, released today in Morocco.
As part of the research, national experts in the UK were asked to assess the country’s Entrepreneurship Framework Conditions (EFCs). These assessments are the basis for an economy’s GEM NECI score. In 2020, the overall quality of the UK entrepreneurial environment was rated as just satisfactory, with a score of 5.0. Since then, that overall quality score has declined slowly each year. The 2023 score of 4.6 places the United Kingdom 22nd of 49 economies.
Since the pandemic, the United Kingdom has been part of an increasing group of high-income economies with an assessed overall entrepreneurial environment that has slipped from sufficient to less than sufficient. There were declines in nine of the 13 EFCs. Most of these changes were small, but the net effect was an overall reduction. The scores for the two different entrepreneurial finance EFCs have fallen over the last three years, surely a major concern for a leading international finance centre.
Press Release

Net zero support unequal across England with less than 1% of small firms receiving help from key schemes, new research shows

• New ERC study found over 700 net-zero inventions carried out through 282 programmes across England
• But small firms branded as the ‘less than 1% club’ as the number of firms receiving help from key local schemes fails to reach the vast majority of SMEs
• Net zero support is fragmented and programmes face uncertainty as major funding source ends

A new study on the state of net zero support for small businesses carried out by the Enterprise Research Centre for the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has been published today (26th September). The study measured the breadth and depth of net zero support programmes for SMEs across England. It found that less than one per cent of local small firms have benefitted from key local support schemes on net zero, raising concerns over the reach and accessibility of the programmes as the UK’s 2050 target edges closer.
Press Release

Challenges mount for UK’s entrepreneurs at home and abroad – new report from GEM UK in partnership with NatWest

Geo-political events created great economic uncertainty in 2022 which manifested in the UK with a cost of living crisis, record high inflation and falling output in an already stagnating economy. This was made worse by home-grown political turmoil throughout the summer months as the UK’s Prime Minister was forced to resign. The ensuing Tory leadership contest resulted in a Truss administration by early September whose initial fiscal event led to an unprecedented economic shock as markets gave their judgment overnight.

The result was a collapse of business confidence in an already fragile economy trying to recover from the effects of the pandemic and the UK’s exit from the EU. A perfect storm indeed in which to assess the resilience of potential and existing entrepreneurs.

Press Release

UK sliding in quality of entrepreneurship ecosystem, ranked 25th globally

UK sliding in quality of entrepreneurship ecosystem, ranked 25th globally
February 16, 2023


The UK is ranked at number 25 of 51 countries on the quality of entrepreneurship ecosystem economies according to the new Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) National Entrepreneurship Context Index (NECI) released today. The ranking, reported in the ‘GEM 2022/2023 Global Report - Adapting to a New Normal’, is a slide down from rank 18 last year, with the index score decreasing from 4.9 (in 2021) to 4.7. UK’s NECI score is below that of other comparable economies such as the USA (5.2), France (5.1), and Germany (5.1).

Professor Mark Hart, Lead of the GEM UK team and Professor of Small Business & Entrepreneurship at Aston Business School in Birmingham said: “It is not surprising that framework scores worsened over the year given chaotic trading conditions and supply chain blockages, as the implications of Brexit continued to be multiplied by the aftermath of the pandemic and compounded by rising energy prices.”

GEM defines the entrepreneurial context of a particular economy in terms of 13 different characteristics, labeled the Entrepreneurship Framework Conditions (EFCs). The NECI results are based on the scores of the Framework Conditions for each of the participating 51 economies. At least 36 experts are selected to assess statements that make up the scores that can be compared across economies.

In the period 2021 to 2022, nine EFC scores worsened, led by Physical Infrastructure and Ease of Entry: Burdens and Regulation, both directly related to the post-Brexit, post-pandemic turmoil. An economy once lauded for its world-leading financial markets was assessed as insufficient in both the level of (4.87), and access to (4.05), entrepreneurial finance, alongside insufficient entrepreneurial education at all levels, and diminishing government policy support. Despite having top universities, UK was rated as not sufficient (<5.0) in Research and Development Transfers.

On the bright side, experts see an improvement in Government entrepreneurship programmes, which is probably partially driven by the deployment of Help to Grow programmes. However, there is still much to be done as the score of 4.66 is still below the sufficiency level. Similarly, on the degree of recovery towards pre-pandemic levels of activity in companies, the UK’s score suggests sufficiency (5.57). It is still considerably lower than in benchmark countries (6.36 in the USA, 6.34 in France, and 5.79 in Germany). The UK compares relatively well in terms of the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals. Experts perceive for example the degree of priority assigned to good practices of social responsibility by UK entrepreneurs as 5.83 out of 10 which is higher than in the US (5.64) and in Germany (5.61), although lower than in France (6.34).

Dr. Sreevas Sahasranamam, a co-author of the GEM global report and Associate Professor in Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Strathclyde Business School in Glasgow, said: “Globally, we observe that the quality of entrepreneurship ecosystems are now better in the East, with UAE, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, and India taking the top four spots. These are clear trends that could accelerate the Eastward movement of the centre of gravity of global economic activity.”

Access the full report at https://www.gemconsortium.org/reports/latest-global-report.


Press Release

Mental health sickness and presenteeism creeping back up in the post-COVID workplace, study shows

Workplace absences due to mental health sickness have increased in 2022 after falling during the pandemic, a new study suggests.
The incidence of ‘presenteeism’ - employees working whilst they are unwell - has also increased, although it has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels.
More firms say that mental health-related sickness is impacting on business performance.
The study, conducted by the Enterprise Research Centre (ERC) based at Warwick Business School, tracked the experiences of 237 firms dealing with mental health and wellbeing from 2020, just before the pandemic began, through 2021 and 2022
Press Release

Britons believe setting up a new business is easy, but less than one in ten intend to, survey reveals

More than 70% of Britons believe it is easy to start a business in the UK, but less than one in ten has any intention of doing so, a global entrepreneurship survey has found.
The 23rd annual Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2021/2022 report, unveiled today at the Dubai Expo, measures entrepreneurial activity across 47 high, medium and low-income economies.
Data is gathered via a survey of at least 2,000 respondents in each country who answer questions on their entrepreneurial
Press Release

Social enterprises can play a vital role in Chancellor’s net zero pledge

Social enterprises could be critical to achieving a more environmentally sustainable business landscape, according to a report published today by The Enterprise Research Centre [ERC] and The Women’s Organisation.
State Of The Art (SOTA) Review 53: Social Enterprises and Environmental Sustainability, researched and written by Dr Emma Folmer and Dr Anna Rebmann, emerges as COP26 gets underway in Glasgow this week.
The conference, which is attended by climate experts and world leaders from 197 countries, aims to accelerate action towards climate change and environmental sustainability.
Press Release

GEM UK 2020 report

Entrepreneurs will be crucial for the UK’s recovery from COVID and dealing with economic fallout from Brexit – new report
• Early-stage entrepreneurial activity in 2020 had fallen sharply from its pre-pandemic high in the UK as the economy was essentially shut down for long periods due to COVID-19
• This decline was due to fewer nascent entrepreneurs than normal – that is, individuals in the first three months of starting their new business venture
• Nevertheless, around two-thirds of working-age adults looking to set up a business within three years said the pandemic had influenced their decision to re-assess their future engagement with the labour market

As in previous economic downturns it is the small business community that drives the recovery across all sectors of the economy. UK entrepreneurs once again stand ready to rise to the challenges and opportunities created by the Coronavirus pandemic and the economic fallout from Brexit, a new report says.
The latest Global Entrepreneurship Team (GEM) UK report found that although around of half budding entrepreneurs said that the UK government had so far dealt effectively with the economic consequences of the pandemic, there must be improved programmes, financial support and advice to start-ups and scale-ups through different stages of the business life cycle.
Press Release

Midlands businesses need urgent help with staff mental health after report details COVID impact

Media Release issued by the Mental Health and Productivity Pilot
Small businesses across the Midlands need urgent help with improving wellbeing in the workplace after a new report showed COVID-19 is now a main factor in causing mental health absences from work.
The Mental Health and Productivity Pilot (MHPP) is encouraging businesses to get in touch for advice on adopting a free mental health and wellbeing programme for workplaces, to help combat the problem.
The report, published by the Enterprise Research Centre (ERC) and authored by researchers at University of Warwick – a partner of MHPP – showed that mental health issues related to COVID-19 were a more common factor for sickness absences at Midlands workplaces than issues related to in-work problems or physical health.
It also revealed that smaller firms were much less likely to have adopted a mental health plan or to have changed working practices due to COVID-19 compared to larger companies.