Graduate and student entrepreneurs, including agricultural and rural businesses, are being given the chance to compete against University and Graduate entrepreneurs across Britain for regional and nationwide recognition and a cash and mentoring prize, with the Lloyds TSB Enterprise Awards launched on 14 November.

The new awards scheme is Lloyds Banking Group’s latest initiative to help support start ups and growth firms, and will include agricultural and rural businesses. To launch the initiative, Lloyds Banking Group has joined forces with the National Association of College and University Entrepreneurs¹ (NACUE) – a charity dedicated to encouraging entrepreneurial activity in universities.

The overall winner of the Awards will receive £50,000² to invest in their business, together with a comprehensive two-year mentoring programme, involving senior executives from Lloyds Banking Group, designed to provide coaching and support on critical business issues such as planning, finance, recruitment and marketing.

Entrepreneurs who have founded or co-founded their own business and who are currently studying at universities across England, Scotland or Wales – or who graduated within the past five years and have been trading for more than 1 year – will be able to enter the awards by visiting www.lloydstsb.com/enterpriseawards. All entrants will be considered for two titles – Best Start Up, which will be awarded to a business in its early stages; and Best Enterprise which will be awarded to the business judged to show real potential to grow over the next five years to become a recognised small and medium sized enterprise (SME) within its respective sector.

The search for the Lloyds Enterprise Awards winners will begin with initial heats³, in February 2012, across six regions in England, as well as national heats in Scotland and Wales. The two winners in each of these heats will then compete for the Best Start Up and Best Enterprise awards at a grand final in March 2012.

Commenting on the Lloyds TSB Enterprise Awards, Alick Jones, Agriculture Policy Director, Lloyds TSB Agriculture, said: “British farming has a proud history of enterprise and for generations our agricultural colleges and universities have played a fundamental role in nurturing business talent. Lloyds TSB Agriculture wants to ensure that the talent emerging from agricultural and rural courses at colleges and universities does not go unrecognised. As part of Lloyds Banking Group’s commitment to help SMEs grow, we also want to play our part in nurturing and supporting young farming and rural entrepreneurs, to give them the best chance of future growth.”

TV presenter, farmer and Lloyds TSB’s farming ambassador, Adam Henson said: “UK agriculture has a very positive future and now is a really exciting time for young people to be getting into the industry. There will be great opportunities for graduates who are entrepreneurial, innovative, and business minded. This initiative will give emerging farm or rural based enterprises a great start and so I encourage students and graduates to take part.”

Lloyds TSB Agriculture customer, Katherine Hutchinson of Roots Farm Shop in East Rounton, North Yorkshire said: “My cousin, Barry, and I both studied at Harper Adams University College and we were keen to come home to the family farm. But it was clear that the farm would have to diversify if it was going to provide two additional incomes. I had developed a feasibility study as part of my final year dissertation which showed there was a sizeable demand for a farm shop selling locally produced food, as well as a café for local residents to use. The experience we had at university was invaluable in helping us set up our own income stream, but awards such as these will play a key role in helping young entrepreneurs to progress their ideas after graduation and to take their businesses forwards successfully.”