smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

De Montford University (DMU) is offering budding entrepreneurs with disabilities the support to start up their own business.

The university, situated in Leicester, is running a programme called 'Starting in Business' which will teach its students the fundamentals such as writing a business plan and finance.

A successful pilot period for the course was completed in April and the course is running again due to popular demand.

Commenting on the potential of the scheme, Stuart Hartley, project manager for Business Incubation and Enterprise at DMU, says: 'This is a great opportunity for entrepreneurs in the region to gain the basic skills and knowledge needed to set up and run a business, giving them the best chance of success.'

Recent figures compiled by the Venture Index have shown that investment in UK entrepreneurships has dropped significantly, with investment down by a third this quarter when compared to the same period last year.