NatWest is proud to announce its lead sponsorship of this year’s #SBS Small Business Sunday (including #SBSEvent2020)
#SBS Small Business Sunday is a national small business initiative launched by entrepreneur and Dragon’s Den investor Theo Paphitis in 2010 on Twitter. The network has grown to more than 3,000 small business winners who reap the benefits from the networking with like-minded businesses, as well as the marketing, advice, opportunity to collaborate and free annual event.
The ongoing competition runs every Sunday between 5pm and 7.30pm, and Theo Re-Tweets six new businesses every week to the growing network using hashtag #SBS. #SBS Small Business Sunday is a 365-day support and advice network for the small businesses and this year celebrates its 10th anniversary.
Managing Director of Entrepreneurship for NatWest, Gordon Merrylees said: “We are delighted to be sponsoring this year’s event. Working as we do to support thousands of entrepreneurs and business owners each year to start, scale and succeed, we are delighted to be able to support SBS2020 and celebrate the successes of some of the best new entrepreneurial talent in the UK.”
Supporting the country’s ambitious entrepreneurs is not new territory for NatWest. The bank’s Entrepreneur Accelerator programme has supported more than 19,000 businesses across the UK generating £123 million in turnover and contributing over 1500 new jobs to the UK economy. *
On Friday 14 February, NatWest also announced its ambition to help create 50,000 incremental new businesses across the UK by 2023, and support over half a million people to consider entrepreneurship as a career option. **
#SBSEvent2020 takes place at Birmingham’s International Convention Centre on Friday 28 February.
The initiative’s creator and retail entrepreneur Theo Paphitis had this to say ‘NatWest is the perfect partner for #SBS, and their entrepreneur accelerator programme will be a huge asset for our #SBS winners at the event and beyond. NatWest and #SBS's shared love of helping the UK's small businesses thrive is of huge benefit to the network as a whole’
ENDS
Notes to editors:
*Data accurate from April 2018
** For more information on NatWest’s commitment to Enterprise visit: https://www.rbs.com/rbs/about/enterprise.html
