Stagecoach founder Sir Brian Souter is to launch a UK-wide campaign to help turn around the country’s economy by stimulating a new generation of entrepreneurs.
Appointed President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (Icas), Sir Brian intends to harness the skills of the institute’s 20,000 members to offer a ‘ladder up’ to young people keen to start their own companies but lacking the resources or opportunities to do so.
“Our business birth rate is far too low, and our survival rate is also low,” he says. “When I was young we had an aspiring working class, with many people coming through the education system and going on to become successful.
“Somehow that’s changed and we’ve ended up with a group of socially excluded folk in our society where opportunity and aspiration are missing. We have to change that.”
Using the resources of Icas, which has a charitable foundation aimed at helping young people, Sir Brian will roll out a strategy for reversing Scotland’s poor start-up record.
