The Maple Review provides a comprehensive and honest assessments of the barriers facing people who want to start or grow a business in the UK. Its findings closely mirror the themes identified in Adding Value Across Enterprise Support, the national report commissioned by the National Enterprise Network (NEN) in 2023. Both reports highlight the same systemic issues: financial exclusion, digital inequality, confidence barriers, limited early exposure to enterprise, and the need for long‑term, community‑rooted support.
Together, these two reports create a powerful, aligned evidence base for reform and a clear picture of what must change to make entrepreneurship accessible to everyone.
Below is an overview of the key challenges the Maple Review identifies.
- Entrepreneurship in Schools
The Maple Review highlights a significant gap in enterprise education for young people, particularly in disadvantaged areas. Many leave school without:
- exposure to entrepreneurship as a viable career
- practical business skills
- relatable role models
- opportunities to build confidence early
The Review calls for a National Public–Private Business Skills Guarantee, ensuring all young people can access real‑world enterprise learning and early inspiration.
This aligns strongly with the Value of Enterprise Support Report, which emphasised the importance of early intervention and confidence‑building for young people.
- Finance Is the Biggest Barrier
The Maple Review is unequivocal: access to finance is the number one barrier for aspiring entrepreneurs, especially those on low incomes.
It recognises that:
- Most microbusinesses only need £500–£3,000 to get started.
- People without savings or family support cannot access even these small sums.
- Traditional finance products are not designed for low‑wealth or first‑time founders.
The Review calls for a National Micro‑Capital System to provide small, flexible, low‑risk finance with simple processes and wrap‑around support.
The Value of Enterprise Report similarly highlighted that microbusinesses are “overlooked and underfunded despite their economic contribution”.
- Microbusinesses Are Overlooked in Policy
The Review stresses that microbusinesses (0–9 employees) make up the majority of the UK business population, yet national policy often focuses on high‑growth start‑ups or larger SMEs.
It recognises that microbusinesses:
- operate with thin margins
- often work from home
- have irregular income
- are disproportionately run by people facing disadvantage
This echoes the Value of Enterprise Report, which warned that microbusinesses are “a large part of the economy to overlook”.
- The Minimum Income Floor Discourages Enterprise
One of the most important insights in the Maple Review is its critique of the Minimum Income Floor (MIF) in Universal Credit.
The Review explains that:
- After 12 months of self‑employment, the DWP assumes a person earns the equivalent of 35 hours per week at National Minimum Wage, regardless of actual income.
- This reduces Universal Credit payments and creates financial instability.
- The MIF actively discourages people on benefits from starting or sustaining a business.
This is a major policy barrier that prevents people from exploring enterprise as a route out of low income.
- Confidence, Not Capability, Holds Many People Back
The Review recognises that many aspiring entrepreneurs have the skills and ideas but lack:
- confidence
- financial literacy
- digital skills
- networks
- role models
These are structural disadvantages, not personal failings. The Review argues for support that is:
- strengths‑based
- trauma‑informed
- long‑term
- community‑rooted
The Value of Enterprise Report similarly highlighted that many entrepreneurs “are less likely to seek out help beyond their own networks” and often find mainstream support intimidating or inaccessible.
- Digital Exclusion Limits Enterprise Potential
The Review highlights that digital access is now essential for business — yet many people lack:
- devices
- connectivity
- digital confidence
This creates a barrier to marketing, trading, and managing a business. The Review calls for targeted digital inclusion efforts to ensure entrepreneurs are not left behind.
The Value of Enterprise Report also emphasised digital poverty as a major barrier to business survival and growth.
- People Need Support Before, During and After Start‑Up
The Review stresses that enterprise support must be a journey, not a one‑off intervention.
It calls for:
- early‑stage exploration
- confidence building
- practical skills
- long‑term mentoring
- peer networks
This aligns with the Value of Enterprise Report’s finding that long‑term, relationship‑based support improves business survival and community impact.
- Support Must Reflect Real Lives
The Review acknowledges that many aspiring entrepreneurs face complex circumstances:
- caring responsibilities
- health conditions
- trauma or instability
- multiple jobs
- irregular income
It argues that enterprise support must be flexible and designed around real‑life situations, not idealised assumptions.
Where NEN and Its Members Fit Into This Landscape
The challenges highlighted in the Maple Review and echoed in Adding Value Across Enterprise Support are the same issues that National Enterprise Network (NEN) members have been addressing for decades.
NEN members:
- have been embedded in their communities for 35 to 40 years
- work in schools, colleges and youth settings to introduce entrepreneurship early
- are trusted, long‑standing organisations with deep local knowledge
- support people on low incomes, those facing digital exclusion and individuals navigating the Minimum Income Floor
- help founders who need very small amounts of capital to get started
- provide long‑term mentoring, practical skills and community‑based support
- reach groups that mainstream provision consistently fails to engage
The Maple Review brings national recognition to the barriers NEN members see every day and validates the community‑rooted, human‑centred approach that has defined the enterprise agency model for four decades.
As the UK seeks to widen participation in entrepreneurship and unlock the potential of people and places too often overlooked, NEN and its members are well placed to contribute their experience, insight and deep community connections to the next phase of this national conversation.
NEN’s Next Step: Collaboration with the Maple Review
In response to the Review, NEN has reached out to the Maple Review team to explore how we can support, collaborate and contribute to the next phase of this important work. With our members’ deep community roots and decades of experience, we are keen to work together to ensure the Review’s recommendations translate into meaningful, practical change for entrepreneurs across the UK.
Read the Maple Review The Maple Review | Report