THE director of the Isle of Wight based enterprise initiative In To Biz Limited has won a prestigious national award in recognition of her out-standing contribution in providing help for young people starting up and developing their own businesses.

Hammie Tappenden received her award in London from Shell LiveWire, the national programme supported by oil company Shell UK which helps young people between 16 and 30 start up their own companies.

She has developed several important projects to assist and encourage young entrepreneurs, including an innovative eight week business start up training programme, a young business network, which provides opportunities for mutual support and intertrading, and a mentoring programme whereby experienced advisers work closely with young businesses.

In the last year alone, she has helped more than 20 new young businesses become established and has attracted over £90,000 worth of inward investment to encourage regeneration and economic development on the Island. Much of this is targeted at encouraging young business starters.

Shell LiveWire director Sandy Ogilvie said: "Hammie has worked relentless-ly to improve the opportunities for young peo-ple wishing to start businesses on the Isle of Wight and her achievements speak for themselves.'' After taking a career break to have her daughter, Hammie joined the Isle of Wight Enterprise Agency in 1991.

Providing the right sort of encouragement and support to young entrepreneurs came naturally to her as she was previously a young business owner manager herself.

She became co-ordinator for the Island's Shell LiveWire scheme and has worked relentlessly to offer unrivalled services to young business starters.

In 1994 the Enterprise Agency became part of Business Link and for three years she was responsible for the entire business start up programme on the Island. In 1996 she broadened her youth enterprise interests and became a director of the Prince's Youth Trust for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

She set up In To Biz Limited in 1997 with Fiona Grist, a secondee from NatWest Bank, with whom she had worked for two years.

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