Over 25 high profile festival speakers were announced at the high-octane event with an audience of business leaders, policymakers and media, including Kanya King MBE, founder of the MOBO Awards; angel investor of the year, Dale Murray; and Will King, founder of King of Shaves.
Speaking at the launch, hosted by Coutts, Michael Hayman, Chairman of MADE and co-founder of Seven Hills and StartUp Britain, said: “MADE is a celebration showcasing the very best of brilliant British talent in this Jubilee year. It is all about encouraging a new generation of entrepreneurs to actually go for it and accelerating businesses through ideas, innovation and inspiration.”
The event celebrated the unique atmosphere at MADE, which will take place at the City Hall, Sheffield on 19–21 September 2012. This year the festival will welcome 3,000 entrepreneurial business minds to Sheffield who will be there to network, to be mentored, and to make deals.
Also unveiled was the E20: The Entrepreneurs’ Summit, a special event hosted by The Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth on 19th September, wheretwenty of the UK’s top entrepreneurs will come together to develop anentrepreneur action plan around youth unemployment.
“We will have a once in a lifetime group of brilliant business minds that we will be able to field as part of the MADE festival, to share the wisdom they have, said Michael Hayman. We believe that MADE has become a movement, not just afestival”, he added.
Brendan Moffett, Director of Marketing Sheffield described MADE as ‘the pre-eminent festival for entrepreneurs in the UK’ and said: “We are delighted that HRH The Duke of York is here to show his support of MADE and it proves how much the festival has evolved since we launched in 2012. The countdown to MADE 2012 is officially on and we can’t wait to welcome everyone to Sheffield in September.”
Andrew Haigh, Executive Director, Client Propositions at Coutts said: “We are delighted to again be headline sponsor for MADE: The Entrepreneur Festival, which we have supported since its launch in 2010. At Coutts,we recognise the importance of growing businesses and entrepreneurs and the role that they can play in ultimately boosting economic growth.
“This Festival provides a chance for entrepreneurs to share their skills and connections to help build successful businesses. It is a showcase of all that is good about British business and we are thrilled to be playing our part through the Festival.”
CNBC’s Ross Westgate hosted a lively panel Q&A with three guests who will attend MADE this year – Will King, founder, King of Shaves; Penny Power, founder, Ecademy and Oli Barrett, co-founder, StartUp Britain.
Will King, founder, King of Shaves said: “MADE will be the coolest place to be in September if you want to make a job, not take a job.”
MADE is sponsored by Coutts & Co, Gazelle, Intuit and Irwin Mitchell. CNBC, Wired and The Yorkshire Post are media partners for this year’s festival.
