MORE than 100 new company owners have put themselves forward for an entrepreneurial challenge which seeks to find the North-East’s business leaders of the future.

The second year of the If We Can, You Can challenge has been hailed as a huge success, with scores of new entrepreneurs entering the search for businesses that can make a positive difference to the regional economy in years ahead.

Of the entrants, almost half have been from female-led start-up businesses, many of whom have shared inspirational stories of setting up their venture with juggling family commitments.

Numerous more are from young people, aged under 25, and several have been received from entrepreneurs aged 50 or over.

This weekend marks the last chance to enter the challenge, which is open to anyone who has started, or is thinking of starting a business, to share their strategies and visions for the future.

Winners will become Faces of Entrepreneurship in the region for 2010, being used as ambassadors for entrepreneurial campaigns, and will receive a prize which includes a £5,000 business support package, a business gadget and a year’s membership of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum.

The challenge, run by the Entrepreneurs’ Forum and supported by The Northern Echo, was launched to find aspiring business people whose ventures can play a key role in the region for years to come.

It is part of the wider If We Can, You Can campaign, which seeks to reinstill a cando culture into the North- East, and revive the spirit of entrepreneurship for which the region was once world renowned.

On Tuesday, five of the entrepreneurial entrants whose businesses are deemed to have most promise will be pitching to a panel assembled by The Northern Echo, which includes trainer designer Matt Scott – last year’s challenge winner as named by readers of the newspaper – and runner-up Karen Forster, who owns a male grooming salon in Durham City.

Andrew Keeble, who grew the Debbie and Andrew’s sausage-making business he started with his wife Debbie on the kitchen table of their North Yorkshire farm into a multi-million pound venture, and The Northern Echo’s assistant editor Nigel Burton will also be part of the panel.

Carole Beverley, chief executive of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum, said the quality and number of entries show there is reason to be optimistic amidst the economic gloom.

“We have had a massive response to the challenge, and it’s not just the number of entrants that has been pleasing but also their passion and overwhelming drive to succeed,” she said.

■ To enter the If We Can, You Can challenge before tomorrow’s deadline, log onto ifwecanyoucan.co.uk/challenge