A MAJOR conference coming to Liverpool next year will aim to “light the candles of entrepreneurship” for the city region’s young people.

In March next year, 500 people from more than 100 countries will converge on Liverpool for the week-long Global Entrepreneurship Congress.

The event is being staged by the US-based Kauffman Foundation which chose Liverpool after a strong lobbying by economic development agency, Liverpool Vision.

It had to compete with cities across the world to win the conference.

In the last few days Jonathan Ortmans from the Kauffman Foundation has been to Merseyside to meet with business and political leaders.

Mr Ortmans told LDP Business that one of the key aims of the event was to convince young people across the city region that they can become entrepreneurs.

He said: “I believe we can have a real impact here in Liverpool.

“We can light the candles of entrepreneurship for the young generation and create something new here.

“Entrepreneurs don’t come from business schools.

“I call it the ‘Ocean’s 11’ concept. We need players who can do different things.

“Anyone who has confidence and support and who can approach a problem in a different way can be an entrepreneur.

“It is not just about people designing new websites – it is much broader than that. I regard the Beatles as being entrepreneurs.”