Wilshere, meanwhile, runs Two Dogs & Co, a maker of products for the pet market. She was inspired to set up the business after her family got a dog to help her deal with mental health issues including anxiety, and Wilshere started to make items such as leads for her friends’ animals as well as her own.
The Prince’s Trust is a charitable organisation which was set up 45 years ago by HRH the Prince of Wales with the aim of providing support to disadvantaged young people in Britain. One of its many achievements is the development of The Prince’s Trust Enterprise programme, which was founded in 1983 and has trained and mentored tens of thousands of budding entrepreneurs – including Kimit herself – helping them turn their business ideas into reality.
Support for thousands of budding entrepreneurs
NatWest has a long history of working with the Trust, and indeed the bank’s sponsorship of the 2021 Enterprise Award marked the 12th consecutive year that NatWest had supported this particular prize.
Hannah Little, senior partnerships manager at The Prince’s Trust, said: “The Prince’s Trust Awards is an annual event that celebrates young people who have overcome barriers to achieve their goals, through the support of the Trust. Young people are facing the toughest employment environment in a generation, and now more than ever we need to support young people into meaningful job opportunities and self-employment alongside partners like NatWest. We’re hugely thankful to NatWest for sponsoring the Enterprise Award for another year, celebrating the achievements of entrepreneurs that have started and grown thriving businesses.”
Alison Rose, CEO of NatWest, added: “NatWest is proud of its long involvement with The Prince’s Trust Awards, and our sponsorship of the Enterprise Award over the past 12 years has played a particularly important role in our support for young entrepreneurs.
“Since the financial crisis, young people have been disproportionately affected by a lack of employment opportunities, a situation that has only been made worse by the pandemic. By working with The Prince’s Trust, we have been able to shine a vital spotlight on the role models that the next generation of business owners and entrepreneurs can relate to and emulate.
“We have also collaborated with the Trust on the Explore Enterprise programme, which helps young people develop their entrepreneurial ideas into fully fledged, sustainable businesses. We furthered this support in 2020 by partnering with the Trust to create our Enterprise Relief Fund, providing £3.3m in grants to help young people protect their businesses from the impacts of the pandemic.
“Additionally, the volunteering scheme we operate across the bank gives our colleagues the opportunity to support young people in areas such as developing pitches, preparing for interviews, as well as building confidence and skills.”