SMEs - the force for economic reform

The small business community, their representative bodies, entrepreneurs and politicians attended the first national conference of the Genesis Initiative in the Grand Committee Room, in the House of Commons today (April 28, 2003).

The purpose of the conference is to set the agenda and identify the opportunities for growth for small businesses in the UK, in an expanding Europe and throughout the world.

UKTECH is one of the main sponsors of the event and we will be reporting on the sessions of relevance to freelancers. UKTECH's managing director and Genesis main board director, Andy White, is one of the speakers and will be using the opportunity to draw attention to the issues which affect freelancers.

The conference, 'SMEs - The Force for Economic Reform' is being organised by the Genesis Initiative, which is a new and focused think-tank consisting of the major stakeholder organisations in the small business sector which advocate policies to encourage the growth of SMEs and create a climate in which they can reach their full potential.

The event is held in association with the All Party Parliamentary Small Business Group which, with more than 400 MPs and Peers, is the largest All Party Group in Parliament.

Opening the conference HRH Prince Michael of Kent, the Patron of the Genesis Initiative, stressed the importance small businesses could play in the wider economic reform of the EU and the 'blue prints for success' which the UK could bring to other European countries.

The conference will build on the pledges from the Lisbon Agenda which emphasised the important role SMEs had to play in the economic reform programme. It will also revisit the Bolton Report and the impact it had on small businesses, 30 years after it was published.