The city will come alive with pop-up cafes, fashion boutiques and more, providing us the chance to discover what may become the trends and hot companies of tomorrow.
TestTown 2014, developed by Carnegie UK Trust and supported by Cambridge BID, was designed to encourage young entrepreneurs up and down the country to help breathe new life into town centres and revitalise high streets across the UK.
Competing for £10,000 start-up funding and ongoing business mentoring support, nine finalists aged between 16 and 30 will descend upon Cambridge to set up pop-up shops from 10 to 11 October. Look out for them along Peas Hill, Green Street, Milton Road and in the Grafton Centre.
Each of these has already made it through their regional heat, in Manchester, Middlesbrough, Rhyl, Kirkintilloch, Bury St Edmunds, Perth and Colerain respectively, with the final offering contestants the chance to showcase their work in a real life business setting using an empty shop on the high street.
Becky Burrell, Marketing and Commercial Manager at Cambridge BID, commented: “The TestTown national final will give some of the UK’s best young entrepreneurs a taste of doing business in Cambridge, a city with a worldwide reputation as a centre for new ideas and innovation.”
More than 450 people from across the country applied to take part in TestTown 2014, with contestants including pop-up fashion boutiques, cafés, 3D print shops and art galleries. Existing Cambridge businesses should also benefit directly from the competition, with last year’s TestTown final generating more than £10,000 of additional consumer spending for the host town, and consumer footfall also doubling. The regional finals have already generated thousands of pounds of additional revenue for their hosts.
Jim Metcalfe, Carnegie UK Trust said: “This year we have travelled the length and breadth of Britain to uncover some of the sharpest young business talent the country has to offer. For too long we have seen our town centres decline; action has been taken but the remedy has not been working. It is time to prescribe a new course of treatment and that is exactly what TestTown aims to do.
“More than just a business competition, TestTown engages with young people to find out what would bring them to a modern town centre environment. We’ve had some amazing entries and even more great ideas for retail offerings that could make a big difference across the UK.
“This is the reason we chose Cambridge for the final. This is about finding ideas that work across the UK in a wide range of environments with differing social backgrounds. All our finalists has seen their ideas succeed in their regional event, the proof of the pudding will be further success in a vibrant city like Cambridge.”
