This is Leicestershire --A Leicestershire businessman is to become the voice of small businesses across the UK after being chosen for a top role.
Mike Kapur has been appointed chairman of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI's) Small Business Forum.
As well as chairing several meetings of the forum each year in London, Mr Kapur will be lobbying the British and EU governments on behalf of small businesses around the country.
Mr Kapur is founder and director of Leicester telecom and IT firm Signum Corporate Communications, chairman of the National Space Centre in Leicester and deputy chair of governors at De Montfort University. He said he was determined to get out into regions as much as possible and not be focussed on the economy in the south east.
He said: "I want to get out and talk to CBI members and to try get a feel for the pulse of how those businesses are doing, or of particular obstacles, and then feeding that back through the CBI, through ministers and through Brussels.
"I don't want to be based only in London and while the south east is an important part of the economy, it is not the totality."
Mr Kapur said, through his role, he hoped to encourage Government to make it easier for small businesses to secure public sector contracts, ensure better access to finance and to simplify regulation.
He said: "I think it's key we get the policymakers to think small first.
"If you devise a policy, big businesses can adapt to it and implement it fairly easily, but SMEs can be choked. That's particularly true in Leicestershire, where we have a large number of small businesses and not many big corporations.
"I started my own business from scratch 10 years ago and have been through the pain that entails."
The CBI is the UK's leading business organisation with 240,000 members.
He said he was also keen to speed up the implementation of the government-funded Business Bank.
"SMEs can spend a lot of time chasing the wrong type of finance or might not know it is there in the first place.
"I think the business bank would make a huge difference."
Lucy Haynes, regional director for the CBI in the East Midlands, said:
"I am delighted Mike has agreed to take on this role.
"He has been a valued member of the CBI's East Midlands Regional Council for nearly two years and has championed the needs of small businesses during this time.
"While this is a national role, I know that it will provide an excellent opportunity to highlight some of the great achievements of businesses in Leicester and Leicestershire and raise their profile across the UK."
Mr Kapur is replacing Lucy Armstrong, chief executive of a consultancy called The Alchemists. Reported by This is 9 hours ago.