Harnessing entrepreneurship in deprived urban neighbourhoods (DUNs) is a key
aspect of enterprise development policy. The aim of this article is to explore
the barriers to entrepreneurship in DUNs, and how policy can help tackle these
barriers. To do this, it reports the results of a face-to-face survey with 459
respondents and a further 18 in-depth follow-up interviews with those
identifying themselves as entrepreneurs or potential entrepreneurs in the Leeds
Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI) area. This provides evidence that
individuals living in these DUNs face both direct barriers to engaging in
entrepreneurial endeavour, such as lack of self-belief and confidence, and lack
of affordable workspace, as well as indirect barriers such as perceptions of
place, fear of crime and financial lending hurdles. The article concludes by
arguing for a holistic policy approach towards harnessing entrepreneurship in
DUNs that tackles not only the direct but also the indirect barriers to
entrepreneurship.
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