EDP Future 50 2012 unveiled

Shaun Lowthorpe, EDP Business editor

A new generation of entrepreneurs has been welcomed into the EDP Future 50 2012.

Now in its fourth year, the Future 50 celebrates those businessmen and women inNorfolkwilling to test their ideas and take a risk, and the list included 31 new entrants from a range of sectors from IT to insurance.

With the government stressing how vital entrepreneurs are to the country’s economic fortunes and recovery, the event at the Start-Up Lounge at City College Norwich heard how Future 50 businesses were the key to creating wealth across the region.

Kevin Horne, chief executive of NWES and chairman of the Future 50 judges, said the Future 50 was more than just a list, it was a statement of intent and a nascent community of like-minded individuals prepared to risk all in the pursuit of their business dream.

Johnny Hustler, managing director of Archant Anglia, said Future 50 members had a key role to play in helping the region become the number- one growth area for business.

“You can also be the people who inspire a whole generation of young people to do what you are doing – to create wealth, jobs and a better reputation for our region, you can putAngliafirmly on the map,” he said. “Well done for being successful, well done for being recognised.”

Future 50 is more than just column inches in print. It is about creating a network of support and advice and access to vital expertise about how your business can reach the next level.

It is about the creation and recognition of an entrepreneurial community right here inNorfolk, and telling the stories of those who are setting out on their business adventures – their hopes, dreams, successes and, yes, sometimes their failures.

It is about a network of support that extends beyond pages of the EDP and www.edp24.co.uk and into a specially-created Linkedin Future 50 group, where ideas, issues and concerns can be shared and discussed. And it is about coming together at a series of set-piece Future 50 networking events.