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Earlier this month the London Borough of Barnet, saw the opening of the Barnet Youth Business Incubator (BaYBI), a pioneering centre accelerating the success of young entrepreneurs in the local area.
Andrew Harper, Councillor of Barnet | Pastor Agu Irukwu | Laban Roomes, Founder Goldgenie Global | Baroness Berridge of the Vale of Catmose | Kaio de souza, Incubator manager | Lord Green, Minister of State for Trade & Investment.
As a joint social enterprise between Barnet based Church Jesus House, youth-lead charity Elevation Networks and Barnet Council, this ground-breaking business hub has been created for young people (16-24 year olds) not in education, employment or training (NEET) to support them in starting businesses, whilst at the same time creating targeted training solutions for young people that are either already NEET or at risk of becoming NEET.
Goldgenie’s founder Laban Roomes gave a talk last week at the opening and he was in the company of Lord Green, minister of trade and industry.
Lord Green, Minister of State for Trade & Investment
Laban spoke about Goldgenie investing capital into young people to grow their companies after initial set up and that everyone needs someone to believe in them which usually creates exceptional performance in the person who is believed in, of course a good business plan, determination and passion does not go a miss but there is so much talent and great ideas out there that hardly ever come to fruition because business ideas and dreams are often laughed at and dismissed by the less informed or simply by people who do not have the ability to let their own business goals and dreams come to fruition and so scorn people who may achieve something that they could not.
Andrew Harper, Councillor of Barnet | Laban Roomes, Founder Goldgenie Global, Dragons Den Winner | Mr Jess, Franchise development services
The official opening of the centre was on the 14th February, and the ribbon cutting was performed by Lord Green, Minister of State for Trade & Investment and Government Spokesperson for the Department of Business Innovation. In attendance were approximately 80 young entrepreneurs, local businesses, Barnet Council Officials and local and national press, as well as a number of special guests included Baroness Berridge of the Vale of Catmose, Deputy Mayor of Barnet Councillor Kate Salinger and husband Councillor Brian Salinger as the Deputy Mayor’s Escort; Property Magnate, Philanthropist and Star of Channel 4’s Secret Millionaire programme Caroline Marsh; and Laban Roomes, founder of luxury gold plating company and BBC Dragon’s Den success story Goldgenie.
Deputy Mayor of Barnet Kate Salinger | Laban Roomes
“Being an entrepreneur in this current financial climate can be tough, especially for young people just starting out. Starting up your own business can be daunting but with the right training, support and coaching it is very achievable. “I was very fortunate to have worked closely with James Caan and his support has been instrumental in the ongoing success of Goldgenie. Now that I am established as a businessman, it’s important to me that I give something back to the business world and help up and coming entrepreneurs like James once helped me.
“This new venture is fantastic news for Barnet and I hope that young people will grab this opportunity with both hands and utilize the funding and support being offered by the programme.”
Note from Laban Roomes, Founder Goldgenie: Never stop dreaming, just don’t stay asleep.
Kaio de souza, Incubator manager | Lord Green, Minister of State for Trade & Investment | Andrea Opoku, Managing director of Greenbean Marketing who organized the event.
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