Citysife Annual Report 07-08

City-SIFE, London One vision, one aim… to make a sustainable difference

Our Purpose We recognize that the spirit of entrepreneurship is disappearing due to the lack of opportunities for people to develop these skills. This is where City-SIFE comes in. We extend an arm out to help overcome this problem.

Aim Our objective is to devise, initiate and run sustainable programmes that promote a wider understanding of basic financial and economic issues, whilst simultaneously providing guidance and support to those we are working with.

Team Values and Beliefs •

Personal development We develop projects that allow invaluable experiences to be gained - teaching soft skills such as leadership skills and teamwork to both the individuals we work with as well as the City-SIFE members.

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Integrity and Respect Whilst imparting skills through our projects, we aim to build integrity and respect through teachings of good business ethics and this in turn will contribute towards the development of respectable enterprises.

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Build and Sustain relationships We strive to maintain strong relationships with the participating organisations to enable the continuation and improvement of our projects. In addition, we aim to keep in touch with the participants of our projects to aid their continual development.

Location London is a diverse cosmopolitan city, comprising of over 300 languages. It has the sixth largest city economy and is one of the world’s financial centres. However, London has some of the most deprived areas in England. This stark contrast is what drives City-SIFE. By helping to create economic opportunity within London, we not only help to eliminate this disparity but this allows the economy to prosper, as we help members of the community to achieve their full potential.

Entrepreneurship PROGRAMME Entrepreneurship and financial literacy programme for ‘At Risk’ 14-16 year olds The Entrepreneurship Programme, which has now been running for four years with the Prince’s Trust, focuses on “at risk” children. ‘At risk’ students are those who have a history of behavioural or concentration problems and are not expected to achieve the minimum GCSE qualifications for a job. We have identified this section of the population as being one of the most at need, both socially and economically, yet with so much potential. This programme contributes to an ASDAN qualification through the Prince’s Trust XL programme. Although focused towards the development of a Business Plan and the start up of a business, the combination of teaching and activities are designed to enhance the learning and development of skills over the eight week programme. Teaching Material: This covers the four key concepts of creating a business model, namely, market research, business strategy and analysis, marketing and advertising, and finance. Under each of these, imperative issues such as the importance of knowing their product and market, pricing strategies, promoting methods, sources of funding and drawing up of accounts are explicated. This material is comprised in a 25-page booklet handed out to the students upon commencement of the programme.

 

 

Bethnal Green Technology College

Hackney Free and Parochial School

Crown Woods School

Participants

11

9

10

City-SIFE Members

5

6

4

Teaching hours

80 Hours

96 Hours

64 Hours

Businesses

School Radio, Football tournament

Personalized T-Shirts

Personalized T-Shirts

Challenges

Students suffered from a lack of self-confidence and motivation. Many also had English as a second language resulting in low literacy levels and lack of confidence in speaking. In addition, due to various behavioural problems, they found it challenging to work in groups. This required us to utilise creative methods in order to gain their attention and obtain response.

Outcomes

Students are introduced to the idea of enterprise as an alternative and exciting future. They develop business skills, which include market research, marketing & advertising, finance, and business ethics. This was incorporated through covering all the essential material, after which the students ran their business models in their respective schools and participated in an interschool competition where they presented their business results.

Funding

We have received the $800 HSBC Financial Literacy Grant. The businesses ran by the students are funded by their respective schools.

“…the rare opportunity of an introduction into the world of business and finance” David Williams, Prince’s Trust

“… [The Entrepreneurship Programme] gives us more opportunities to learn and contribute” Oscar Karagoc, Bethnal Green Technology College student

City-SIFE’s S T E P A small STEP to a wider future…

Business Plan Competition

The STEP Business Plan Competition is a project which gives university students the opportunity to test their business ideas. The competition is set up to mimic authentic real-life situations – when an entrepreneur is seeking additional funding from potential investors. As such, the competition is split into two stages consisting of a business pitch and written business plan. The first stage of the competition consists of giving a business pitch. This is the chance for each team to present their idea in front of a panel of judges. Feedback from the pitches was given as preparation for the second stage, which is to submit a written business proposal. To help the preparations of the participants, workshops were held and online support was available for anyone that needed further assistance.

COMPETITION STATISTICS Participants

26 teams; maximum of 5 members in each team

City-SIFE Members

15+

Programme length

3 Months

Prize

£1000

Hours

150

Challenges

Being a pilot programme, this posed many challenges ranging from deciding on reasonable timelines to obtaining sponsorships. However, this improved the team’s troubleshooting skills and their ability to overcome obstacles.

Outcomes

The pilot project was a success. There were 26 entries, with business ideas ranging from cocktail machines to water purifiers. The accomplishment of the project can be measured from the level of competition and ingenuity of the ideas coupled with the entrepreneurial experience gained by the participants.

Funding

The project was co-sponsored by Abbey National Plc and Simfonec. The expenses were covered by City-SIFE and the prize money of £1000 was sponsored by Abbey National Plc.

…for people to step forward and realise the true potential of entrepreneurship

“I want to be a successful entrepreneur in the future and I can see this competition as a first step towards entrepreneurship”

Linh Nguyen, STEP Business Plan Competition winner

Project sustainability All current City-SIFE programmes will be continued next year, through the excellent relationships developed with Simfonec and the Prince’s Trust. City-SIFE students look forward to working on the programmes again next year and taking on roles with greater responsibility. There is a process of continuous advancement of all programmes and enrichment of related material occurring at the beginning of the year, to ensure improvement each and every year.

The future of City-SIFE The team aims to build upon strong foundations laid in the previous 5 years, whilst always ensuring that our resources are well-targeted in order to achieve the greatest impact. In the coming years, key goals include: •

Commencement of teaching at the Hoxton Apprentice

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Plans to make City-SIFE financially independent

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Further expansion of Entrepreneurship Programme outside London and to non-“at risk” children

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Development of international projects

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Greater exposure of the team to the whole of City University

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Increased media coverage

New projects for next year

Young Offenders Project

Hoxton Apprentice

This project is targeted primarily at children between the ages of 16 and 18 who have committed acts of crime in the past. It aims to teach them key soft skills such as communication and teamwork, as well as practical skill such as interview techniques and CV building skills. This allows them to go into the job market with a renewed approach towards the working world. Hoxton Apprentice is an award winning restaurant in London, not only for the food that it serves, but also by the inspiring fact that they take in and train the homeless in the craft of cooking. To help integrate these trainee chefs into society, City-SIFE will teach them financial literacy to help with the managing of their finances.

Eleni Antoniou

Brandon Choong

Michael Tamvakis

City-SIFE University Advisor

City-SIFE Team Leader

Cass Business School Associate Dean

One vision, one aim … to make a sustainable difference