Chesterfield organisation named in UK’s top ‘Small Biz 100’
Chesterfield’s Monkey Park has been named as one of the UK’s top ‘Small Biz 100’ by Small Business Saturday. Monkey Park on Chester Street has been selected as a trail-blazer in the official count-down to Small Business Saturday, which takes place across the UK on 1 December 2018.
Monkey Park’s achievements and contribution to the local community will be celebrated and spotlighted on 3rd September 2018. This is part of the campaign’s mission to celebrate small business success, and encourage the nation to ‘shop local’ and support British small businesses.
The 2018 Small Biz 100 are drawn from every corner of the UK and reflect the vibrancy of the UK’s 5.5 million small businesses. Reflecting the latest in innovative start-up trends, from ethical shopping, through to Artificial Intelligence, this year’s Small Biz 100 features a range of unique independent businesses. This year’s cohort joins hundreds of previous Small Biz 100 alumni champions, which have been celebrated by the iconic campaign since its UK launch in 2013.
Kevin Walker, Director of Monkey Park CIC said:
“We are extremely thrilled to be announced as one of the ‘Small Biz 100’ for 2018. Monkey Park is a not for profit organisation whose purpose is to improve the local community by bringing people together & supporting their efforts to change the area. We employ local people and buy our teas, coffees and other ingredients locally to make sure we are enhancing the local economy. We have created six part time jobs and all profits go back into the business or into community projects. We fully support Small Business Saturday’s mission to encourage more people to shop locally and support ventures such as ours”.
Director of Small Business Saturday UK, Michelle Ovens said:
“The launch of the Small Biz 100 marks the exciting count-down to Small Business Saturday 2018. We are thrilled to highlight the dynamic, creative and inspiring small businesses from across the country, as part of our campaign to celebrate and champion the success of the UK’s small businesses. The Small Biz 100 showcases the companies at the heart of the UK’s economy, which we need to support now more than ever.”
In its sixth year Small Business Saturday is the UK’s most successful small business campaign, which last year saw an estimated £748m spent with small businesses across the UK on Small Business Saturday.
A grassroots, not-for-profit campaign, Small Business Saturday was originally founded by American Express in the U.S. in 2010. American Express remains the principal supporter of the campaign in the UK, as part of its on-going commitment to encourage consumers to shop small.
The #SmallBizSatUK campaign trended at number one in the UK on Twitter during 2017, reaching over 115 million people globally. The Prime Minister and the Mayor of London were among those publically supporting the campaign. Over 87% of local councils also supported the campaign.
Small Business Saturday also benefits from the backing of leading business organisations including the Federation of Small Businesses and Enterprise Nation. The campaign is also supported by Amazon, Indeed, Royal Mail, Vistaprint, Xerox, and Square.
Small Business Saturday 2018 is open to all businesses to participate in, and will commence its regional bus tour roadshow across the UK during the autumn, to drum up further support.
