ENTERPRISING people from across East Kent have seen their dreams come true by opening for business.

At a ceremony in Canterbury Business School (CBS), 16 received certificates to show they had completed the New Entrepreneur Scholarship scheme.

The Government-backed project, run in Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight by CBS and the Enterprise Agency of East Kent (EAEK), aims to help ambitious people in hard-pressed areas set up and run their own business.

A six-month programme of training covering finance, business planning and other aspects of starting a commercial enterprise, aims to equip them with most of the skills they need.

Completion of the programme often entitles them to Government funding of more than £3,000.

Hundreds of people across the region are already running businesses thanks to the scheme, which is only open to residents of certain Kent postcode areas, mainly in Thanet and Dover, but a few in Medway and Ashford.

The newest group featured a wide range of activities, including photography, rubbish and house clearance, soft play area for children, wedding cakes, website design, car conversions and touring pantomime.

Regional manager Janice Sandwell said the scheme had given people a chance to "pursue their dreams."

"It's given them confidence to start up a business," she said, "not only to look at the practical side but also to set up a network, talk to other people in the same way and give them the confidence to investigate avenues they've never looked at before "

The business school's Mike Murphy said: "It gives people a range of experience they wouldn't otherwise have a chance of getting."

The Kent team has impressed the Government with its pilot scheme and hopes to be given a three-year extension in the New Year.