Adam Afriyie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2014-03-31.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many people applied to the 2014 Sirius Programme for young entrepreneurs; and if he will make a statement.

Matthew Hancock

The Sirius Programme, led by UK Trade and Investment, enables talented graduates with innovative start up ideas to start a business in the UK. Successful applicants receive support via a structured mentoring programme and participants requiring a visa, are able to access support through a dedicated visa route for the Sirius Programme. The current programme is a 2 year pilot – the first round was launched on 6 September 2013 and closed on 15 January 2014. A total of 1543 people applied.

A second round of the Sirius Programme will open shortly.