YOUNG people from Wrexham are being encouraged to harness their entrepreneurial flair by entering a competition which showcases Wales’ promising young business talent.

Launched to coincide with Global Entrepreneurship Week, the annual Enterprise Troopers competition challenges children aged 5-11 from across Wales to create and run their own enterprises, selling products or services of their choosing in their schools and local communities.

Enterprise Troopers is organised by Big Ideas Wales, the Welsh Government’s Youth Entrepreneurship Service. Global Entrepreneurship Week is the world’s biggest celebration of entrepreneurship, celebrating and cultivating entrepreneurship within our communities, and connecting people with the support their need at every stage of their journey.

This year, Enterprise Troopers has gone digital, with events and judging taking place virtually and competition entries being submitted through video. With the move online, this year’s Enterprise Troopers will allow the competition to open up to more children than ever, not only groups of primary school children. Any child aged 5-11 from community groups and youth clubs like cubs, scouts, brownies and guides, or children who are still learning at home due to coronavirus can enter individually or in groups.

There are also two new competition categories launching for 2021’s event in which young people can enter their business ideas, Community and Household Categories as well as a new Social Enterprise Award.

Entrants need to submit a video where they creatively showcase their business idea to the group of judges drawn from Big Ideas Wales Role Model entrepreneurs and sponsors Natwest Cymru. Each video will be assessed against the key elements of entrepreneurship; attitude, creativity, relationships and organisational skills.

Those shortlisted will get to compete in regional semi-finals hosted online, with some of the other brightest and most promising business ideas from across Wales.

Michelle Firth, Deputy Head of last year's finalists Brynteg CP School said: “Every year Enterprise Troopers offers an exciting opportunity for our pupils to learn new skills and see how their creativity can be transformed into practical business ideas. They’ve learnt about budgeting, teamwork and all of the different elements of making their ideas a reality.

“You can see the confidence they gain from working and competing with others so I’d encourage every school across Wrexham to get involved and help their children develop important skills for the future.”

Schools, teams or individuals will need to submit their video entries by 4pm on Monday 10th May 2021, with regional finals taking place in June, ahead of the national final in July.

Cheryl Gourlay, National Women in Business Manager at Natwest Cymru, said: “This competition is a brilliant opportunity for us to see and hear about some of the brightest business ideas from children across Wales. It is such a rewarding process seeing them realise what they can achieve if they put their mind to it and work together.

“We’re passionate about supporting and empowering children to develop entrepreneurial skills at a young age, which is why we’re so proud to be continuing our support of Enterprise Troopers. We can’t wait to see the creativity and innovation young people in Wrexham have to offer.”

To find out more about the competition visit www.enterprisetroopers.com