MD2701 Mayor’s Entrepreneur 2021

1.1. The first Mayor’s Low Carbon Entrepreneur Competition was held in 2012. The key aim of the programme then and now is to inspire the next generation of young entrepreneurs to come up with innovative solutions for solving issues facing cities. Previous approvals related to this programme over the past 7 years are: DD482 (2012); DD986 (2013); ADD141 (2014); ADD255 (2015); MD1519 (2016 & 2017); MD2138 (2018 & 2019); DD2258 (2019); MD2422 (2020).

1.2. The success of the low carbon award (2012 to 2018), indicated potential for the Mayor to recognise and support student entrepreneurship across other areas. Rather than setting up new programmes, two new awards were piloted for the 2019 programme, funded by the London Economic Action Partnership (LEAP). Based on the success of the additional awards and the interest from staff and students at universities in the 2019 (3 awards) and 2020 (4 awards) rounds, further funding from the corporate sponsor has been secured. This allows the Mayor’s Entrepreneur programme to continue with five awards for 2021, a total start-up prize fund of £100,000. All five awards will align with the Mayor’s priorities (e.g. the 2020 Awards were Creative Industries, Environment, Health, and Smart Cities). The competition will be managed by the Regeneration and Economic Development Team. The additional awards will enable us to attract a wider range of students from more diverse academic backgrounds. The creation of the additional awards will also result in the following:

• increase the number of new businesses the programme can support in London by having five winning ideas per year;

• broaden the student audience to reach disciplines that might traditionally engage less with environmental issues and strategic London government; and

• confirm London as a global leader in student entrepreneurship whilst strengthening London Higher Education Institution’s (HEI’s) competitiveness in attracting talented students.

1.3. It is proposed to continue the programme with five awards. The programme encourages students and recent graduates to submit existing, or develop new, innovative business ideas for the opportunity of winning one of five £20,000 prizes to bring their ideas to market. The competition is open to all undergraduates, postgraduates (taught and research) and research PhD students in London and is judged by an expert, and high-profile panels of judges. This programme bridges the opportunity gap for students from less privileged backgrounds and aligns with the Mayor’s strategic approach to a sustainable and inclusive recovery.

1.4. The initial stage of student engagement in the initiative is the recruitment of 35 paid part-time interns from universities across London. These interns will be employed by the Mayor’s Fund and support the team at City Hall to advertise the competition at their universities and to encourage students to attend the workshops and apply for the competition. These students are trained in the aims of the competition and in how to pitch it to other students within their institution. This will give them direct work experience and help them to develop soft skills that will further increase their employability and confidence. By having students from disadvantaged backgrounds employed through this programme it provides benefits not only to the student in the form of increased confidence and exposure to a working environment but also to the university in the form of positive publicity and encouragement of their future students. Interns form a valuable link between the students and staff at the universities with City Hall.

1.5. The Mayor’s Fund for London will employ the interns on fixed term contracts for a 6-month period for 3.5 hours per week and will pay them directly. The interns will be paid the London Living Wage for those hours worked. The GLA will assist the Mayor’s Fund for London with the recruitment process. The interns will be seconded to the GLA to work with the GLA team and secondment agreements will be put in place.

1.6. A high-profile communications campaign involving social media, university staff, and a series of workshops serve to attract entries. The idea development workshops conducted will allow students to gain a better understanding of the work of the Mayor across the challenge areas, and the low carbon economy, its importance to London and the opportunities it opens for them to create their own commercially viable business as well as more details on how to enter the competition.

1.7. All applicants are offered an additional training workshop to help these potential entrepreneurs gain confidence in communicating, marketing, and pitching their ideas to this competition and potential investors. In addition to applicant training all semi-finalists (30 per award) will be selected by expert judging panels and attend half day boot camps to develop their ideas and improve their pitching. These semi-finalists will then present additional information on their ideas allowing another expert judging panel to select the top five from each category. The finalists will then be provided with specialist advice, pitching training, ideas development support and training tailored to their business idea through 1-2-1 mentoring.

1.8. The finalists are invited to pitch, Dragon’s Den style, to a panel of celebrity entrepreneurs (past judges have included Dame Vivienne Westwood, Jo Malone MBE, Dame Ellen MacArthur, Richard Reed and Deborah Meaden). The pitching and awards ceremony takes place at a high-profile event at City Hall, COVID dependant, with five winning business ideas selected to receive a £20,000 prize fund each to start-up their business. In addition, these businesses, and other selected finalists, receive ongoing support and mentoring.

1.9. Finalists, students who have applied to the competition or who have been employed as interns are selected to be mentored. This provides between 30 and 40 students with valuable techniques and advice from professionals and industry experts to help them develop their business ideas as well as giving the students a clear focus and helping them to achieve their objectives. It will also strengthen the message being sent to universities about the wider competition and its ability to support students into careers. Mentors will be sourced through partners such as C40, Citi, and the London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB).

1.10. Within each of the awards, challenges will be set by the relevant GLA teams to highlight current city priorities. These will have the joint aims of harnessing London’s student innovation to solve London’s challenges but also providing guidance as to the types of ideas expected to be submitted to each award.

1.11. The successful projects will cover a range of issues across the five awards, but all ideas submitted must align with the Mayoral aim to deliver good growth for our city - growth that makes London cleaner, greener and ready for the future. Ideas will also be judged on their originality, practicality in achieving progress with £20,000, and clarity in how well they can express their concept. Previous winners and finalists include:

• Bio-bean: An award-winning green energy company which collects waste coffee grounds and recycles them into Advanced Biofuels. This company is now employing 60 people across two sites;

• Aeropowder: developing natural insulation materials from waste chicken feathers. They have recently launched their first product to customers which is a reusable insulation material for food deliveries, PLUUMO;

• WithLula: developing zero-waste, fully flushable sanitary products;

• Spyras: providing paper-based sensors to monitor and analyse breathing rates to help diagnose septicaemia among other applications;

• Cosi-Care: a hand-held product for eczema itching relief for children. It cools and soothes itching in seconds and keeps bacteria filled nails from damaging the skin; and

• The Tyre Collective: a retrofittable device that uses electrostatics to capture tyre particulates at source of production preventing them from entering the environment.

Finances

1.12. The programme has throughout its life been financially supported through a commercial sponsor. In 2012 Berkeley Homes sponsored the competition, from 2013 to 2015 Siemens were the commercial sponsor and from 2016 to 2020 the Citi Foundation was the commercial sponsor. The 2021 round of the competition has secured funding from Citi Foundation.

1.13. The GLA worked with The Mayor’s Fund for London to secure $400,000 (circa £311,506 at current exchange rate of 1.28 dollars to the pound) of sponsorship funding from the Citi Foundation to support the programme for 2021. The Citi Foundation works to promote economic progress and improve the lives of people in low-income communities around the world. Their focus is on increasing financial inclusion, catalysing job opportunities for youth, and reimagining approaches to building economically vibrant cities. The Mayor’s Fund for London has entered a funding agreement with Citi Foundation for the sponsorship. The Mayor’s Fund for London is an independent charity, not a part of the GLA, which champions opportunities for young Londoners from low income backgrounds.

1.14. It is proposed that the GLA will enter into a funding agreement with the Mayor’s Fund for London for the GLA to deliver the programme in 2021. The income to the GLA will be US$315,200 (circa £246,406.25 at the current exchange rate. The funding will be used towards workshops, mentoring, marketing, salaries of 2 support officers employed by the GLA, and prize money. The Mayor’s Fund for London will retain 10% of the $400,000 to cover administration costs and a further $44,800 for the interns’ salaries. The GLA will also provide benefits in kind, such as the use of GLA rooms for meetings and the salary of one GLA staff member who coordinates the programme year on year.

2.1. Objectives:

• to support London students to invent solutions to the challenges facing London and to make these ideas a reality;

• to grow the low carbon circular economy by supporting the creation of new green businesses and to make London a world leader in innovation, technology and a hub of new ideas and creativity;

• to provide training to students to develop workplace and entrepreneurial skills, with additional efforts to ensure inclusion of students from less advantaged backgrounds in the programme;

• to provide students with direct employability training by offering paid internships and unpaid mentoring opportunities;

• to hold a high-profile awards event attended by the Mayor/Deputy Mayors and celebrities from the business community;

• to continue to expand the influence and scope of the competition building stronger relationships and “brand” awareness across all London higher education institutions, increasing inclusivity to the competition and strengthening London’s university’s abilities to support student entrepreneurship across the education system; and

• to engage more lecturers and students in the challenges facing London and using the competition for teaching activities including accredited course work and further advancing these real-world themes in university curriculum.

2.2. Expected outputs:

• employability and entrepreneurship training delivered to 800 London students per year;

• 30- 40 paid internships to support the competition;

• over 600 competition entries from across London’s higher and further education institutions;

• 35 mentoring opportunities for finalists and additional applicants;

• semi-final boot camps for students for the top 30 ideas for each Award;

• at least 5 winning student business ideas, to be developed using the corporately sponsored development fund into viable businesses;

• winners from previous years receive continued support to employ and inspire other young Londoners; and

• an annual high-profile judging and award ceremony celebrating the students’ success. To be held virtually if social distancing guidance requires.

3.1. Under Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, as a public authority, the GLA must have ‘due regard’ of the need to:

• eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation; and

• advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people who have a protected characteristic and those who do not.

3.2. The competition is open to all students, from any discipline, who are over 18 from any of London’s higher and further education institutions, which includes those with protected characteristics. The programme is advertised through various methods including face to face (COVID guidelines dependant), presentations by the interns and GLA team members in lectures, and digital marketing via social media. No hardcopy materials will be produced this year due to potential infection risk.

3.3. The student interns are recruited from universities across London and work at their individual universities to encourage students from all backgrounds to participate in the competition. Students are more relaxed and tend to pay more attention when they are approached by a fellow student instead of a lecturer or a member staff.

3.4. We run workshops for students from all universities across London at City Hall as well as smaller targeted workshops at some of the less advantaged universities to actively encourage students who would not usually take part in similar workshops and competitions. These will be a mix of online and in person depending on COVID-related government guidance.

3.5. The only limiting factor for eligibility to apply to the competition is that the applicants are or have recently (graduated in the previous year) been students at a London university or college.

a) Key Risks and Issues

4.1. Three risks have been identified and plans have been put in place to minimise the potential of these situations occurring and their possible impact. The first is the risk of a lack of student engagement which is seen as being a low probability, but medium impact risk. This will be avoided using a variety of communication tools and incentives for students to get involved. The strong network of staff contacts at London’s universities and colleges established in previous years also helps to mitigate against this risk.

4.2. The second risk relates to the external sponsorship of the programme being discontinued or withdrawn. This is seen as being a low probability, but high impact risk. Planned continual communication with the Mayor’s Fund for London and the sponsor over the next year will minimise this risk to ensure their expectations and performance indicators are understood and met. This will also allow for and ensure continued alignment between sponsor and Mayoral objectives. To further reduce this risk other potential sponsors will be investigated, and representatives invited to attend the high-profile events. This also raises the profile of the competition and the student ideas.

4.3. COVID-19 restrictions form the third risk for this year’s competition. This is seen as a high probability, but low impact risk for this programme. Lockdown occurred just before the 2020 competition application deadline and before the workshops for applicants, semi-finalists and finalists took place, as well as the judging sessions and the award announcement event. We were able to pivot our plans to run all of these sessions online and so can continue to deliver all aspects of the programme virtually should this be required.

b) Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities

4.4. The links are:

• the competition will contribute to the Mayor’s Recovery programme, including the ambitions of the New Deal for Young People mission, through allowing young Londoners to benefit from a skills and training offer with employment prospects and to feel empowered to shape and lead young people in the future;

• the programme supports the Mayor’s pledge to deliver a Green New Deal for London with a target to be carbon-neutral by 2030 and the London Environment Strategy objective of ‘establishing new fledgling businesses operating in London that make a positive impact on London’s environment, adding to the Green Economy, through an inspiring demonstration of how London’s young people are succeeding in improving London’s environment through commercial enterprise’; and

• the London Economic Development strategy states that the Mayor “wants business and entrepreneurs to feel supported to grow and innovate” and “wants to draw on the strengths of London’s universities in supporting student entrepreneurship across the education system.” This programme forms a central focus for these aims connecting the entrepreneurship efforts of all London universities. The programme also contributes to the Economic Development Strategy aim to make London a world leader in innovation, technology and a hub of new ideas and creativity.

5.1. Mayoral approval is being sought to deliver the Mayor’s Entrepreneur 2021 competition, including the receipt of $315,200. This decision also seeks approval of expenditure for the same amount in relation to delivery of the competition. Funding for the competition has been secured by the Mayor’s Fund for London from the 2021 commercial sponsor, the Citi Foundation. The programme is expected to start in October 2020 with the full amount paid up front to the Mayor’s Fund for London.

5.2. It has been proposed that an agreement is entered between the GLA and the Mayor’s Fund for London, giving responsibility of programme delivery to the GLA. A partial contribution of $315,200 from the funding will be given to the GLA to cover expenditure relating to the programme. This includes workshops, mentoring, marketing, salaries and prize money. The Mayor’s Fund for London will retain $40,000 for administrative fees and $44,800 to cover the salaries of 35 interns, paid at the London Living wage. The interns will be paid directly by the Mayor’s Fund for London.

5.3. It is estimated that $315,200 will be translated circa £246,406.25 (with a current exchange rate of 1.28). The $315,200 income to the GLA will be managed by the Regeneration and Economic Development unit. Any exchange losses will be contained within the unit’s budget.

6.1. Sections 1 to 2 of this report indicate that the decisions requested of the Mayor concern the exercise of the GLA’s general powers, falling within the GLA’s statutory powers to do such things considered to further or which are facilitative of, conductive or incidental to the promotion of economic development and wealth creation, social development or the promotion of the improvement of the environment in Greater London; and in formulating the proposals in respect of which a decision is sought officers have complied with the GLA’s related statutory duties to:

• pay due regard to the principle that there should be equality of opportunity for all people;

• consider how the proposals will promote the improvement of health of persons, health inequalities between persons and to contribute towards the achievement of sustainable development in the United Kingdom; and

• consult with appropriate bodies.

6.2. In taking the decisions requested, the Mayor must have due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty; namely the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010, and to advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic (race, disability, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity and gender reassignment) and foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it (section 149 of the Equality Act 2010). To this end, the Mayor should have particular regard to Section 3 (above) of this report.

6.3. Officers must ensure that an appropriate funding agreement is put in place between and executed by the GLA and the Mayor’s Fund for London before any commitments are made.

6.4. Officers must ensure that they comply fully with all applicable GLAHR/Paid Service protocols in respect of any staffing proposals and ensure an appropriate secondment agreement is put in place before any interns are seconded to the GLA.