In my last article, I argued that a strong, confident and outward-looking economy in the North West is essential. Central to that argument was a simple idea: while external investment matters, long-term prosperity will be built from within.

That belief is not theoretical. Companies such as E&I Engineering, Learning Pool, Alchemy Technology Services, Elemental Software and Fleming Agri are a handful of visible examples; they show that world-class businesses that start here, grow here, and compete globally can and do emerge from the North West.

What unites these stories is not luck. It is attitude and mindset: a drive to succeed, confidence to try something new, and a willingness to solve problems for ourselves. When people here were excluded from access to credit in the 1960s, they didn’t wait for permission, they built the credit union movement.

The same question applies today: why can’t we do something similar with entrepreneurship?

Historically, access to capital and talent were barriers. Today, technology, including AI, is helping to lower those barriers. But mindset still matters. Too often, business is framed as separate from community, or even in opposition to it. In reality, strong indigenous businesses create good careers, fair work, and build stronger communities.

Recently, I met a young man at a strategy workshop I was facilitating – let’s call him Michael. He left school without qualifications, returned to education through the North West Regional College, and is now studying something he loves. What struck me most was his sense of responsibility to this place and his desire to help shape its future. There are many Michaels and Micaelas across the North West. With the right support, some will build long careers in local firms; others will go on to create the indigenous businesses of the future.

 

The challenge and opportunity is whether we act with shared intent. That means aligning long-term strategies on skills, infrastructure, innovation and enterprise around locally anchored growth, and using tools such as the City Deal, council economic and infrastructure planning, university expansion, and skills provision at NWRC and elsewhere to support entrepreneurship. It also requires confidence in ourselves: recognising, celebrating and backing success where it happens. If we are serious about a resilient and inclusive economy, then developing indigenous enterprise must be a defining civic priority – owned locally, supported consistently, and capable of outlasting political cycles.