Meet the Salford students competing for the next great business idea

The Young Enterprise programme challenges young people across the UK’s Higher Education sector to develop an original business idea, set up and run the company. It provides invaluable real-world experience for students, furthering their enterprise and entrepreneurial skills and readying them for the world of business post-study.

Regional national finals are being held in different countries during the 2023/24 academic year, with Salford hoping to represent the UK at the Junior Achievement European Final in Sicily in July 2024. The teams will be hoping to emulate the success that Salford Business School had in 2022, when they scooped the prestigious Young Enterprise European Team of the Year Award.

This year’s cohort are distinguished by the socially conscious themes running throughout the business ideas. With 8 teams competing in the Salford Business School final, only 2 will go on to represent the university at the Young Enterprise Northwest Regional Final, held at Manchester Metropolitan University on 21 February 2024.

The business ideas are varied, ranging from the ‘She Scores Foundation’, which looks to help grassroots clubs secure funding for women and girls football, to ‘Law Link’, a website designed to help anyone in the community access the best lawyer in their region for specific legal issues.

Also competing is ‘Cleo Cares’, named after Cleopatra due to ancient Egypt historically being the only place women could successfully start their own business ventures, which offers e-learning courses and certificates raising awareness of women’s health issues in the workplace.

Tia-Rae Barton, a second year Business Management student at the University of Salford and leader of Cleo Cares, commented: “Our group is very diverse and has differing perspectives, and we have all had experience of various types of discrimination in the workplace. We wanted to develop a business idea which helped to address this, increase learning and raise awareness of the health issues that women go through, which are still less commonly known then other health concerns.”

“The Young Enterprise competition gives us a chance to express ourselves, and encourages our creativity and independence, ready for the world of work.”

“We saw a gap in the market and we want to help people save time, as well as improve accessibility to local businesses,” said Ali Albaghli. “The Young Enterprise competition is teaching me real-world skills including how to work as part of a team. The mentors have been really supportive and helpful as we move along this journey.”

‘Team Keadé’ Leader Joyce Dias Batista, International Business Management student, explained:

“We are in the process of setting up a shade company. Essentially, we've noticed a shift in how our demographic uses sunglasses. Instead of going for a typical clothing brand, which seems to be the trend these days with the rising popularity of streetwear, we're focusing on shades that can be worn in nightclubs or just for adding vibes to any outing. It's not solely about protecting eyes from the sun anymore. We figured, why not tap into that market?”

“However, we faced a decision regarding whether to buy frames and refurbish them or create our own from scratch. After some deliberation, we've opted to purchase frames and customize them ourselves before selling. Looking ahead, we're considering the possibility of allowing customers to customise their own shades.”

“We're also leaning towards sustainability in our approach to ensure we're not negatively impacting the environment. The overall experience has been great. We recently had a meeting to discuss our progress, future plans, and the tasks at hand—starting with the website, social media presence, and promotional efforts."

Dr Jonathan Owens, Young Enterprise Lead at Salford Business School, added: “Our students have come up with some really innovative ideas that definitely have the potential to be businesses of the future. The Young Enterprise competition is a fantastic opportunity that anyone at Salford Business School can get involved with, and hopefully we can go all the way again this year! Thanks to the mentors who give up their time to help our students think through and develop robust business plans, and of course to our students for the dedication and commitment they have shown already to the competition. Fingers crossed for Team Salford!”

The final teams from the University of Salford will be selected following presentations to a panel of industry experts from Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Citation and The Growth Company on 14 December 2023.