51Âþ»­

Small businesses can now nominate themselves for recognition of their new ideas.

The LLEP Business Gateway Growth Hub took the lead on the Leicestershire Innovation Awards just before Christmas, replacing Reach plc, which used to run the awards through LeicestershireLive, the website for the Leicester Mercury. And organisers are now urging local SMEs and social entrepreneurs to showcase their successes.

The annual awards will be held on the Loughborough University campus on 20 March. Nominations are open now.

Sponsored by 51Âþ»­ Leicester (51Âþ»­), the University of Leicester, and Loughborough University, its categories celebrate positive change across a host of sectors.

The Innovation Awards were previously run by LeicestershireLive parent company Reach, with the support of local partners including the universities, local businesses, Invest In Leicester, and the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP).

Reach originally planned for the event to take place on 16 February.  The event has now been moved to March 20.

It also gives businesses that have already applied through the Reach platform time to resend their nomination through the

Dr Nik Kotecha OBE DL, chair of the LLEP Innovation Board, thanked Reach for its support of the Innovative Leicestershire agenda over the last five years, saying: "Reach helped to establish the awards as one of the most exciting and dynamic celebrations of local innovators in the Midlands.

"We look forward to building on that for years to come – and using the Growth Hub network to recognise the impact of small business change-makers across our area."

The theme of this year’s festival is ‘Small Change, Big Impact’. Dr Kotecha added: "Small business successes are extremely important for economic growth in Leicester and Leicestershire.

"More than 99 per cent of UK businesses have fewer than 50 employees. It is essential for overall economic growth that they prosper.

"By nominating as many of the city and county’s small businesses as possible for the awards, we can celebrate and share the ideas that are increasing productivity in our area."

Please ensure all sections of the form are completed before submission.

Deadline for entries is midnight on Sunday 18 February.

Businesses are also encouraged to look at events happening as part of the Leicestershire Innovation Festival, which runs from 5-16 February at venues around the city and county.

The festival is made possible thanks to support from sponsors Horiba MIRA, Freeths, Novartis, Exemplas, Brewin Dolphin, Cross Productions, and the three universities.