• Small business platform launches competition for value-driven SMEs
• Winners will be mentored by Timothy Armoo, Mike Turner and Emma Jones 

Small business platform Enterprise Nation has launched a new fund in partnership with TikTok, offering grants and mentoring from the country’s top entrepreneurs.

The platform, which supports 800,000 businesses every year, will offer a £5,000 grants to three small businesses every year which focus on community, trust and entrepreneurship.

Winners of the competition, which closes on 14 September, will also receive 12 months of one-to-one mentoring with some of the country’s most successful entrepreneurs, as well as a meeting with a TikTok ads specialist to help build an online presence.

The winner of the entrepreneurial category will be mentored by Timothy Armoo, co-founder of social and influencer agency Fanbytes, who sold his business in an eight-figure deal at the age of just 27.

Mike Turner will mentor the fund’s ‘Trusted’ category, having himself been a member of Enterprise Nation when he launched his own business, independent tea company Bird & Blend.

And Enterprise Nation’s founder Emma Jones CBE will mentor businesses centred around community, having taken the platform to more than £8million revenue in 2023.

She said: ‘We truly believe in the power of entrepreneurial spirit, trust and community, these are the qualities that best reflect our values and we want to celebrate and reward businesses that share that vision.

‘By launching our own fund with TikTok, we hope to create a legacy that will help the next generation of businesses to collaborate and support each other in innovative ways.’

How can TikTok help your business?

While plenty of businesses use Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to reach a larger audience, TikTok has blown up in recent years. It now boasts 1billion active users and launched in the UK in 2018.

Unlike other social media apps which prioritise connections, TikTok’s ‘For You Page’ presents users with videos related to their their interests through its unique algorithm.

It now also has its own shopping feature, where creators and businesses can sell their products, from which TikTok takes a small commission.

A recent study by Oxford Economics revealed that SME activity on TikTok contributed £1.63billion to UK GDP in 2022.

The report also found that 47 per cent of TikTok users have bought a product or service on the platform and 45 per cent have visited a restaurant or tourist attraction as a result of seeing it on TikTok.

Lisa Freidrich, TikTok SMB leader in EMEA said: ‘At TikTok we are incredibly humbled by the inspiring small businesses that come to our platform every day to promote and sell their products. 

‘TikTok has become a key part in their marketing strategy, as an affordable and engaging way drive sales and we’re very proud of the role we’re able to play in breaking down the barriers to starting a growing a business. ‘

Entries for Enterprise Nation’s competition opened on 10 August and close on September 14, 2023. 

A shortlist of 30 successful entrepreneurs – 10 in each category – will then go to the public vote with finalists going forward to judging. The winner will be announced in October.