Recession has hit a contest designed to find the best new commercial idea.

Kent Innovation Challenge, which has been held for the past few years, is being replaced by a showcase of great new ideas at a countywide event in April.

Final entries for the competition, which offered prize money of £20,000, with further prizes in kind for the winner, were due by March 7.

But organisers said the downturn had affected numbers, even though more than 20 innovative products and services had been entered.

Bob Jones, chief executive of Business Link Kent, a key sponsor and responsible for Innovation and Growth teams that replaced enterprise Medway, Canterbury and Sittingbourne enterprise hubs, said the competition had served its purpose by rewarding many innovative enterprises.

Recession and the pre-eminence of the Kent Excellence in Business Awards (KEiBA) had taken the spotlight away from the innovation challenge, he said.

It did not mean any less emphasis on innovation. "We've decided to re-frame it," he said. "Recession has meant that some businesses have retrenched in terms of innovation. KEiBA are now the game in town and we are focusing on them."

It was better to focus on companies that were already being helped by the innovation and growth teams. Five would be showcased and celebrated at Kent 2020 Vision on April 22. A separate innovation category was being considered for the 2011 KEiBA, Mr Jones added.