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31st August 2006

Cultural Events Entrepreneurs Triumph in Business Plan Challenge

Two budding entrepreneurs who bring African and Indian arts and cultural events to a wider audience have triumphed in the Business Plan Challenge set by the Business Development Unit (BDU) at the Arts Institute at Bournemouth.

Jenny Dick and Melissa Inman originally collaborated on a multi-cultural event while they were 2^nd year students as part of their BA (Hons) Arts and Event Management course at the Institute, with a budget of £3,500 and a footfall of 850 people. They repeated their successful collaboration in the final year of their course, hosting the phenomenally successful ‘Elephant Festival’ in Dorset, where they raised over £31,000 and increased their visitors to 10,000 people. When their degree course finished in June 2006, they had already realised there was a gap in the market for multi-cultural events in the area, which prompted them to start their company, ‘Fusion Cultural Events’.

The Business Plan Challenge was developed to encourage local entrepreneurs to identify and develop their creative business ideas, giving them an opportunity to see their ideas develop into their own businesses. Frankie Owens, Head of the Business Development Unit at the Institute commented “We developed the Business Plan Challenge in order to nurture local talent and make people realise that starting a business doesn’t have to be a daunting prospect. By offering a business incubation unit in our Enterprise Pavilion as the first prize, along with consistent mentoring support and financial set-up incentives, we will support the winners every step of the way, enabling their pathway to a successful business.”

The business plan submitted by Jenny and Melissa detailed how they would develop cultural events for the region, using various black and ethnic minority inclusion policies to introduce African and Indian culture to a wider audience. They set up a twelve month programme that hopes to see the significant expansion to ‘The Elephant Festival’, a free arts festival celebrating African and Indian cultures through a mix of workshops and performances, gaining a national reputation. They will also be offering culturally diverse arts projects to schools throughout Dorset, as well as working with community groups and arts organisations to produce a whole host of unique culturally expressive events.

The Business Plan Challenge was open to entries from 3 categories, including FE Students; undergraduates and postgraduates; and new businesses in their first 3 years of trading. The BDU, which works within the Enterprise Pavilion at the Institute, set the challenge to encourage local entrepreneurs to think about the possibilities of starting their own business, and support them by providing financial and well as managerial incentives. Judging was undertaken in 2 stages and included Kay Homer, Director of Operations for the South West Regional Development Agency; Peter Scott, Chief Executive of Dorset Business Chamber of Commerce; John Last, Deputy Principal of the Arts Institute at Bournemouth; Matthew Desmier, Operational Manager for the Enterprise Pavilion and Mark Painter, Customer Relationship Manager for Business Link Wessex. The judges looked at various criteria to reach their decisions including the innovation of the business idea; the presentation of entrants’ plans; the research undertaken to compare their idea, or show how it would succeed; and the thought behind the marketing and financial aspects of the business.

Jenny Dick commented, “Winning the Business Plan Challenge has allowed our company to develop enormously. Having an office in the Enterprise Pavilion has enabled us move forward – our plans are to develop the national profile of the festival and establish our company as a strategic player in the arts in the South West. We are really excited about the year ahead; we know there will be a steep learning curve, but we are definitely ready for the challenge!”

The Pre-Start Category in the Business Plan Challenge was awarded to ‘Nought 2 Nursery’ by Nova Woodrow, whose plan involved launching and distributing a free magazine for young mothers, providing valuable information on the local area. Awards of Merit went to ‘Loop Card Games’ by Eiman Monore, a teacher who has developed an interesting science-based teaching aid; ‘Creative Hive’ by Jonathon Lotriet, a graphic designer with a passion for his work; ‘Surfacom’ by Matt Clarke who developed the idea for a surf information website; and Refreshed Media, who provide online marketing solutions.

The awards ceremony takes place at the Enterprise Pavilion on 16^th November during National Enterprise Week. Rachel Lowe, one of the first participants in the inaugural BBC programme ‘Dragen’s Den’ and now Managing Director of RTL Games will be giving a presentation on her business rise, and will exclusively launch the 2007 Business Plan Challenge.

The Enterprise Pavilion provides business incubation units for new businesses in the creative industries. In conjunction with the Dorset Business Chamber of Commerce, the Enterprise Pavilion and the Institute are currently sponsoring the ‘Creative Business Award’ in the 2006 Dorset Business Awards, where they are looking for growing innovative businesses within the creative industries sector. For more information on the Business Plan Challenge or the Enterprise Pavilion please visit www.aibep.co.uk.

Fusion Cultural Events are currently planning the next Elephant Festival for 2^nd June 2007 in Bournemouth’s Lower Gardens. They are utilising the other start-up businesses within the Enterprise Pavilion, with the design and implementation of their website (www.theelephantfestival.com) from ‘Hands-on-Heads’ going live in the next few months. For more information on their cultural programme, please email elephantfestival@yahoo.co.uk

eP related

• Business Plan Challenge Event
• Business Plan Challenge