Our Impact, Evaluation and Research Team have been looking at the importance of the Digital Enterprise Sector in the UK. Here's what they found.

technation_figures

Source: Tech City UK (2015). Tech Nation. Powering the Digital Economy 2015. p.17

Digital enterprise is booming in the UK and its significance for the future development of Britain’s economy continues to grow. The latest Tech City report highlighted that 15% of total UK companies that were founded between the years 2013 and 2014 were digital companies. In addition, approximately 1.46 million people are currently employed in digital companies across the UK and an additional 45,000 jobs are advertised. However, many reports fail to mention the success stories of young people in the digital world and what opportunities and challenges the digital sector presents for the younger generation.

The involvement of students and young people in the digital enterprise sector push has been growing considerably in the last few years and has the potential to grow even further in the upcoming years. Nesta’s Young Digital Makers report highlighted that 82% of respondents are interested in digital making, which signifies the immense potential for future digital entrepreneurs. An analysis of Companies House data found that 26,400 people aged 21 or younger are listed as directors of limited companies. This is in line with the results of NACUE’s Big Network survey, which uncovered that 6% of our network own a digital enterprise. According to these research findings, this rise of a generation of entrepreneurs is due to the growth of the app economy. Particularly sectors like app creation and online media provide a considerable amount of opportunities for young people to open businesses within the technology sector. This trend is also reflected in statistical figures. For example in 2014, 18% of apps in the UK were developed by people between the ages of 13 and 25 (UK App Economy Report, Vision Mobile, 2014).

However, with digital enterprise on the rise in the UK, digital businesses are faced with challenges surrounding the recruitment of new talent, which is essential to grow and scale these companies. Digital firms pointed out that many young people lack awareness of what the digital community has to offer. Furthermore, NACUE’s Government and Enterprise survey highlighted that the majority (80%) of survey respondents felt that the current education system does not equip youth preparing for a career in digital enterprise adequately. Therefore, it is vital to develop young people’s digital skills through suitable education programmes and practical experiences in form of apprenticeships and internships.

See the results of our Big Network Survey here.

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  1. Our Impact
  2. Our Mission
  3. Our model

We've achieved a great deal in a short number of years, though there's much more too do in supporting our mission of 'Powering the Enterprise Generation'.

32,000

Students

19,926

Event attendees

20,505

Followers

42,000

Reach

16,512

Businesses

43,439

Jobs

Powering the Enterprising Generation

Our mission is to support the development of education and student engagement throughout college and universities by championing student enterprise societies and peer-to-peer learning. NACUE started from an extraordinary movement in student entrepreneurship, providing young individuals with a platform to be experimental, creative and inspiring in their approach to enterprise and entrepreneurship, encouraging a bottom-up approach to inspiring the next generation.


Today, we see over 200 enterprise societies, powered by peer-to-peer groups, who are championing the success of young people throughout their interactive programmes by forging collaborative relationships with their institutions to provide greater experience and development opportunities for their peers. Establishing regional links with locals SME’s who are keen to open their doors to emerging talented, proactive and enthusiastic graduates perpetuates this.


Our work is dedicated to supporting the development and encouragement of entrepreneurship amongst young individuals and forms the sole purpose of NACUE. To learn more about NACUE and the services we produce, click here.

As a not-for-profit, we raise charitable donations that allow us to widen the opportunities available to young people in relation to enterprise and entrepreneurship, strengthening student engagement, the quality of education and connecting and representing student enterprise societies and student entrepreneurs worldwide.

NACUE is a charitable organisation that supports 32,000 students and young people every year. As funding becomes harder to obtain, we rely on the generous support of donors to ensure our programs can continue to change the lives and aspirations of the younger generation.


A donation of any size goes a long way to furthering our work and really is greatly appreciated. Every gift matters in aiding our mission of ‘Powering the Enterprising Generation' but we mainly rely upon the generosity of our members and alumni to do this. By making a single or regular donation you can make a big difference. To learn more about how you can donate, please follow the links below.



 

Large national network

NACUE are delighted to have supported a huge number of student-led societies over the years. You can see the number of established student-led societies on an interactive map below

 

College
University
Society

 

 

Who we work with

Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are at the very core of NACUE, everything we do is to better the startup and self employment ecosystem. We believe that entrepreneurs will shape the future, and we bolster this through our events, our network and our advocacy.

Students

NACUE works with students in Colleges and Universities right across the UK, helping support them in their entrepreneurial goals and connect them with like minded peers.

Educators

NACUE works collaboratively with educators and academics in supporting the development of entrepreneurial mindsets in young people.

Our events

Our events offer the young people we work with the opportunity to connect with our wider network, the experts and seasoned entrepreneurs in our community and the chance to be inspired to take the leap of faith into entrepreneurship. These events are attended by students and graduates from universities and colleges up and down the UK, as well as students from across Europe. Student Societies take centre stage at our events, alongside innovators, game changers and trail blazers of the UK startup ecosystem.

The difference we make

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