Founders Forum Group partners with the Centre for Entrepreneurs
Founders Forum Group and the Centre for Entrepreneurs (CFE) have announced an expansion of their partnership to champion entrepreneurship throughout the UK.
The growing partnership is a natural extension of Founders Forum’s support of CFE’s NEF+ entrepreneurial leadership programme, which provides ambitious early-stage founders from all backgrounds with a unique learning environment along with coaching from leading entrepreneur-practitioners. Participants are equipped with the skills and mindset they need to form, and then lead, exciting new businesses.
As part of the extended partnership, Founders Forum Group will make a significant annual donation to CFE, host its staff in their new offices on London’s Strand, and invest in furthering CFE’s research and content. The partnership will also enable the return of CFE’s annual lecture, for the first time post-pandemic.
“We want to support the next generation of entrepreneurs and expanding our partnership with The Centre for Entrepreneurs allows us to do just that,” says Carolyn Dawson, Founders Forum Group CEO, who joins CFE’s Board of Trustees as part of the extended partnership.
“From its comprehensive directory of accelerators and incubators, to its pilot programme for refugee founders, CFE’s work makes entrepreneurship more accessible to more communities and more diversity means a stronger startup ecosystem and a stronger economy overall.”
CFE CEO, Timothy Barnes, noted the partnership will see the organisations combine their expertise and operational strengths on a range of initiatives throughout 2023 and beyond, including an annual state of entrepreneurship report and insights on the UK’s productivity deficit.
“Through Founders Forum Group’s partnership, we’re planning to produce a range of helpful content for entrepreneurs and those who support them,” he said.
Olive Pawle is chair of CFE’s Board of Trustees and co-founded the organisation. He said: “Ten years on from launching our first NEF+ entrepreneurial leaders programme and two years on from our first partnership with Founders’ Forum, I’m delighted to deepen our collaboration and help a diverse pipeline of entrepreneurs from the first spark of an idea, through to launch, acceleration and growth.”
Co-founder and executive chair of Founders Forum Group, Brent Hoberman, started Founders Forum after his own experiences as a serial founder showed him the need for a supportive entrepreneurial network.
“I’ve admired the work of NEF+ and CFE as an early advisor to both organisations. It’s wonderful to be able to amplify their work and the next stage of their journey with the tremendous complementarity of the Founders Forum Group,” he said.
“The outlook for entrepreneurs today is incredibly exciting but not without its challenges. Working more closely with the Centre for Entrepreneurs allows us to bring more opportunities to new entrepreneurs and find more ways to help successful entrepreneurs give back. We’re excited to grow our philanthropic remit as we seek to champion entrepreneurs at every stage of their journeys.”
