Greater Manchester’s largest festival for entrepreneurs returns for 2025

This Friday, GM Business Growth Hub are bringing their Festival of Enterprise back for the third time - welcoming start-ups, entrepreneurs, sole traders and the self-employed to the city-region's largest celebration of entrepreneurial passion.

Taking place on Friday the 14th of March at the renowned Royal Exchange Theatre in the heart of Manchester City Centre, the event is a celebration of start-ups, self-employment and entrepreneurship, proudly championing Greater Manchester as the ultimate destination for launching and expanding your business.

Hosting the event is EnterprisingYou, GM Business Growth Hub’s flagship support programme for the self-employed and startups in the region. EnterprisingYou has supported over 4000 entrepreneurs and small businesses and helped create £13.6M of revenue across Greater Manchester since 2020.

This year’s Festival of Enterprise has seen a 50% increase in registrations from 2024, and additional tickets have been released this week.

“We’re so excited to be bringing back Festival of Enterprise for the third year. And this time it’s going to be bigger and better than ever. I’m really proud of the amazing speakers and exhibitors we have lined up. They show the incredible things being done across Greater Manchester in all shapes and sizes.

“Running a business, being self-employed is really challenging. But if you allow yourself even just one day for yourself this year, it should be the Festival of Enterprise. I guarantee you’ll come away feeling inspired and ready to do business in 2025” - Yvonne Sampson, Head of Enterprise at GM Business Growth Hub

This year businesses from across Greater Manchester are speaking and exhibiting at the immersive experience featuring a diverse lineup of inspirational speakers, networking opportunities, and an array of vendors and stalls showcasing innovative products and services in a unique festival atmosphere.

These include small businesses like Koko Blossom, based in Tameside who will be exhibiting at the event.

Laura Brownhill, founder of Koko Blossom said "I'm excited for the opportunity to have a Koko Blossom stall at the Festival of Enterprise. As well as being a great opportunity to promote the business, I'm looking forward to meeting and learning from fellow entrepreneurs."

Nick Richardson Founder of The Insights Family is also looking forward to speaking at the event, flying the flag for local businesses.
He started his business in Manchester, providing real-time market intelligence on kids, young people, and parents. They now work across 6 continents and 22 countries, with offices in London and New York.

"I'm delighted to have the opportunity to share some of my experiences of developing and scaling a business at the Festival of Enterprise, an event which I believe will only inspire and support more to consider exporting as part of their growth strategy."

What to expect at Festival of Enterprise:

• Inspiring talks: Hear from leading entrepreneurs and industry experts such as Nadine Merabi - Creative Director of Nadine Merabi Ltd, James Hamilton – CEO of Pixeltree, Sarah Cross – Founder of CODE Beautiful and Jordan Dargue - Co-founder of Lifted Ventures on topics such as ‘Mastering Marketing,’ ‘The Power of Exporting,’ and ‘Finance for Success.’
• Pitching: Take the stage and showcase your business in front of a live audience for valuable feedback and an opportunity to get noticed.
• Networking hub: Connect with like-minded entrepreneurs and expand your professional network.
• Advice on how to access fully funded business support: Gain access to expert guidance and resources to help grow your business.
• Interactive workshops: Covering essentials like business finance, marketing and sales, and scaling up for growth.
• Shop the market: Explore a variety of vendors and stalls featuring GM-based businesses with exciting products and services.
• Live entertainment: Enjoy performances from talented local musicians throughout the day.

“We’ve supported a record number of people wanting to start their own business this past year, and it’s really inspiring to see the amazing ideas and missions across Greater Manchester.

“Festival of Enterprise is a great way to bring us all together to celebrate, learn and reflect on the importance of our self-employed economy. What we’ve achieved at the Hub and EnterprisingYou is incredible, but it wouldn’t be possible without all the amazing businesspeople across the city-region.

“The Festival is about giving them space the celebrate their achievements whilst also looking forward to what comes next” Janine Smith, Director of GM Business Growth Hub.