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.
• 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.
• 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 de-
velopment 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 Hackney Free and

Crown Woods School
College Parochial School

Participants 11 9 10

City-SIFE Members 5 6 4

Teaching hours 80 Hours 96 Hours 64 Hours

School Radio, Football

Businesses Personalized T-Shirts Personalized T-Shirts
tournament

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,
Challenges
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.

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
Outcomes 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 inter-
school competition where they presented their business results.

We have received the $800 HSBC Financial Literacy Grant. The businesses ran by the students
Funding
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

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

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
Outcomes
the level of competition and ingenuity of the ideas coupled with the entrepreneurial experience
gained by the participants.

The project was co-sponsored by Abbey National Plc and Simfonec. The expenses were covered
Funding
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. One vision, one aim
In the coming years, key goals include:
• Commencement of teaching at the Hoxton Apprentice … to make a sustainable
• Plans to make City-SIFE financially independent
difference
• Further expansion of Entrepreneurship Programme
outside London and to non-“at risk” children
• Development of international projects
• Greater exposure of the team to the whole of City
University
• Increased media coverage

New projects for next year

This project is targeted primarily at children
between the ages of 16 and 18 who have
Young committed acts of crime in the past. It aims
Offenders to teach them key soft skills such as
Project 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
Hoxton that it serves, but also by the inspiring fact
Apprentice 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 City-SIFE Cass Business School
University Advisor Team Leader Associate Dean