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The evening was aptly titled “Entrepreneurship – Opportunities in a Crisis”, and each panellist was asked to comment on the top five high growth areas over the next five years. The audience included London-based alumni from the finance, technology, consulting, non-profit, and private equity sectors, all of whom shared a common interest in entrepreneurship.

The panellists included:

Giles Andrews, CEO of Zopa, the UK's leading peer-to-peer lending site

Alan Gleeson, MD of Palo Alto Software, the makers of Business Plan Pro

Karen Bellis, Global Operations Director, Shell LiveWIRE, a platform that supports young entrepreneurs globally

Sebastian Stoddart, Co-Founder, The School Collective, a web 2.0 collaboration platform for education

Alpesh Patel, Principal, Praefinium Group, an international asset management group

Amongst other topics, the panellists cited an ageing population, resource scarcity, and security concerns as opportunities for innovative businesses that could play a part in solving these socio-economic problems. The audience participated in a captivating debate on the business opportunities in services targeting the ageing baby boomer population, as well as the value that could be unlocked if the talent/experience of this demographic group were to be fully exploited.

Special thanks to Afua Osei from the Oxford Centre for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, who chaired the panel discussion, and to Faisal Butt, Nicholas Russell, and James Mcalister, the OBA London Executive Committee members that co-organised the evening.