UK entrepreneurs are faring well in the face of global recession, according to a new survey co-funded by the DTI published today. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2002, a worldwide survey of entrepreneurial activity, questioned 20,000 last year in the UK alone - representing the largest single study of entrepreneurial activity in the world.

Key findings show that:

• though entrepreneurial activity is down worldwide, Britain is faring well in the economic downturn - of the G8 countries, only the US and Canada fared better than the UK in reduction of total entrepreneurial activity;
• the gap between male and female entrepreneurship has narrowed in the last year by nearly 40 per cent - but the gap is still wider than the global average with men in the UK twice as likely to set up in business as women;
• job creation by small businesses is strong in the UK - it's estimated that 55 per cent of start-up businesses each create up to 11 jobs; and
• entrepreneurial skills are up - 43 per cent of people feel they have the appropriate skills to start a business compared with 40 per cent last year.
• The gender picture varies by region. Women are leading men in entrepreneurial activity in one region, Yorkshire and the Humber. However, in the East of England, levels of entrepreneurship among men are nearly 10 times higher than among women.

Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt said: "despite the world economic downturn, this survey shows that the UK is still a great place to start and run a business. People are more aware than before of entrepreneurial opportunities and positive about the effect of those opportunities. I'm pleased that the gap between male and female start-ups is narrowing, but there is still much more we need to do when men in the UK are twice as likely to set up a business than women. The Government is determined to help encourage even more women to start up in business.

"We need to eliminate the barriers that remain, be it access to finance or to childcare or business networks. If women started new businesses at the same rate as men, we would have more than 100,000 extra new businesses every year," she added.

The research also produced interesting findings on the level of ethnic minority entrepreneurship:

• Asian people are twice as likely to be involved in start-ups than their white counterparts, while Caribbean people are three times as likely and Africans nearly five times as likely to be involved than white people; and
• Caribbean women are the most entrepreneurial of all British females.

Patricia Hewitt added:"The new data shows that people from ethnic minority communities make a large and important contribution to the entrepreneurial spirit of our country. This finding is particularly welcome. Our role as government must be to ensure that individuals from minority backgrounds who want to start their own business are supported in doing so."

The report also revealed a strong regional dimension to entrepreneurial activity:

• the South East has the most favourable climate for entrepreneurial activity, employment and job creation for start-up businesses and also has the best profile for job creation in the next five years;
• the East of England has the highest index for entrepreneurship at 6.1 per cent;
• the East Midlands has the highest proportion of business angels, with London a close second;
• the East of England, London and the South East has the highest proportion of independent start-ups;
• the Northwest has the strongest environment for job creation through owner-management businesses; and
• Northern Ireland has the highest proportion of new technology owner-managers at 15.2 per cent of the total.

Patricia Hewitt continued:"increasingly support for entrepreneurs needs to be delivered regionally. There are outstanding start-ups and high growth businesses in every region of the UK but still persistent gaps in the business birth rates between regions. By bringing RDAs, Business Link and the Learning and Skills Councils closer together we aim to make every region an enterprise success story."

ABOUT THE GLOBAL ENTREPREURSHIP MONITOR

The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor started in 1999. Now in its fourth year, the project involves 120 researchers working in 37 countries. Taken together, the 37 countries that form the basis of GEM 2002 account for 92% of world GDP and two-thirds of the global population. GEM therefore constitutes the largest global research project in entrepreneurship currently being undertaken anywhere in the world. The GEM Global report was published on 13 November 2002.

Many of the countries taking part in GEM Global also produce their own individual country report. This year GEM UK will be the largest study of entrepreneurship ever undertaken in the UK, with a sample of around 20,000 adults across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as well as interviews with national 'experts'. Sponsors include SBS, Barclays, The Work Foundation, Ernst & Young and RDAs. The GEM UK project is managed by Dr Rebecca Harding of London Business School.

The initial survey was of 16,000 adults and was conducted during May 2002. In addition, raw data from two identical surveys conducted during 2002 by Barclays was added in to the sample of adults.

The key indicator used in the GEM research is the Total Entrepreneurial Activity Index (TEA) which is made up of the total numbers of people involved in nascent (start-up) businesses and in new firms which have been operating for up to 42 months.

The full UK GEM report is available at www.gemconsortium.org