Celebrating One Year of NextGen Impact: Building the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs

At The NextGen, our mission has always been clear: empower the next generation of founders with the tools, knowledge, and support they need to start and grow resilient businesses. Now, one year into our Start Up Programme, we’re proud to reflect on the meaningful progress we’ve made together with our community.

Over the past 12 months, we’ve supported hundreds of entrepreneurs through 998 tailored interventions, each one designed to help individuals not just start a business, but build one with solid foundations. Whether they arrived with an idea or already had a business in motion, our programme adapted to meet them where they were, offering personalised mentoring, structured training, and peer-led support to accelerate their journey.

Real Results, Tangible Outcomes

From digital marketing audits and AI-powered business planning to 1-2-1 mentoring and in-person workshops, our programme is delivering outcomes that matter. We’ve had:

• 144 diagnostics completed - helping us track needs and match support accordingly

• 623 online training module accesses, with “Getting Your Business Model Right” topping the list

• 122 1-2-1 mentoring sessions, supporting founders with marketing, finance, and general strategy

• 75 people trained through workshops alone

And we’re just getting started.

Innovation in Action: Introducing VentureKit AI

One of our standout tools this year has been VentureKit AI, which helps founders generate a viable business plan in a fraction of the time. So far, 12 businesses have used this tool to shortcut weeks of research and create structured plans they can build on. It’s just one example of how we’re using technology to democratise entrepreneurship.

Growing a Supportive Start-Up Community

We’ve also laid the groundwork for a growing mentor network, with 5 mentors onboarded, 2 live matches, and more in progress. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive—our mentors are not only sharing knowledge but providing confidence and clarity when it’s needed most.

Behind each data point is a founder with a vision. Like the entrepreneur who left a mentoring session feeling empowered and sent a thank-you card the same day. Or the founder using AI for the first time to launch a digital product. These stories are why we do what we do

Looking Ahead: Scaling Our Impact

As we enter year two, we’re focused on deepening the quality of our support, expanding our digital tools, and continuing to foster a thriving local ecosystem of founders. We’re also exploring ways to white-label the programme for other regions, making it easier for councils and business support organisations to deliver high-impact services under their own banner—while benefiting from our tested model and infrastructure.

To everyone who has taken part, thank you for trusting us with your ambition. You’re the reason The NextGen exists, and we can’t wait to see what you build next.

Here's to the next year of ambition, innovation, and impact.