Leading names line up to mentor young entrepreneurs in £1 challenge

SOME of Scotland’s best-known business leaders are backing the latest initiative to create more entrepreneurs through a competition which challenges participants to turn £1 into as much money as possible.

Thousands of young people at colleges and universities will next week join teams from Scottish firms hoping to emulate a group of 11-year-old girls from Lanarkshire who won a pilot programme by making £4,000 from their £1 loan in just four weeks.

Property and retail tycoon Sir Tom Hunter and Bob Keiller, chief executive of Wood Group PSN, will mentor participants in the Micro-tyco competition through the specially-prepared videos.

Hundreds of teams throughout Scotland have signed up to participate in the competition, which starts on 1 November.

It is the brainchild of musician and businessman Mick Jackson, founder of WildHearts, a not-for-profit organisation based in Morayshire, which invests profits from its group of companies in micro-finance in developing countries.

This year, WildHearts will help 100,000 people work their way out of poverty in more than 15 developing countries.

Teams apply to WildHearts for seed capital – a micro-loan of £1 and they have a month to make as much money as possible. There are only two rules: teams cannot gamble and transactions must be legal.

Jackson said: “Our aim is to help participants discover and practice all the key skills necessary to start and run a business in a fun, stress-free environment. The £1 is a seed that helps them discover talents they never knew they had. As the money grows, so will they.”

Deloitte, Ernst and Young and Enterprise Rent A Car are among the firms who have entered teams. The University of the West of Scotland and Robert Gordon University (RGU) have already incorporated it into their business degrees and RGU has extended it to its design & technology and health & social care faculties.

Sandra Hill, senior lecturer at University of the West of Scotland said, “Micro-Tyco makes business studies real for students. It gives them employability skills, teaches them self-worth and helps their confidence grow. It also encourages students to reflect on the ethical issues associated with business and discover how they can make a positive difference.”

The money raised from Micro-Tyco will be invested by WildHearts in micro-loans to help entrepreneurs in impoverished countries succeed in business and create wealth and employment in their local community.

Jackson said: “We want to show that business can be a force for good and justice in the world. All the money created from last year’s Micro-Tyco challenge, for example, was invested to help poor people in El Salvador, Honduras, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua work their own way out of poverty with dignity and respect. Their loans have already been repaid and reinvested to help even more people.

“Therefore, Micro-Tyco participants not only have the opportunity to become dynamic wealth creators, they will also become global ethical investors.”