A BUSINESS challenge has swung into action with a zip-wire adventure across Thetford Forest. Youth charity The Prince's Trust is urging businesses across the UK to compete in a national �1million enterprise event aimed at encouraging young people into business.

A BUSINESS challenge has swung into action with a zip-wire adventure across Thetford Forest.

Youth charity The Prince's Trust is urging businesses across the UK to compete in a national �1million enterprise event aimed at encouraging young people into business.

“Million Makers” challenges employees to run their own mini-enterprises, raising thousands towards helping to get young people into business through The Trust's Business Programme.

The battle commenced at a launch event yesterday hosted by the Go Ape High Wire Forest Adventure course.

Participants took to the trees for an action-packed team building adventure of walking rope bridges, crawling through wooden tunnels and zipping to the ground in order to tighten their team working skills and sharpen their senses for the national fundraising challenge.

Teams strive to come up with the most lucrative business idea and run their own businesses to raise money to change young lives. Nearly 70 companies nationwide - including Accenture, Yell.com and St Tropez - have signed up already and will be competing to raise the cash.

Rebecca Mayhew, Go Ape Communications Director, said they were “delighted” to be hosting the launch events of Million Makers for the second year.

“Go Ape Corporate Days have been running for a number of years now and have proved a brilliant way for the Million Makers teams to get some team bonding in and start to plan their strategy,” she said.

“Teams can look forward to some treetime swinging through the canopy, wiping out at the bottom of zip wires and sharing in three hours of adventure. We hope that Go Ape will inspire our million makers to believe that money really can grow on trees if you are creative enough.”

Julian Barrell, director of fundraising, The Prince's Trust said: “With Britain's best business brains behind us, we can help more young people into business. Nurturing entrepreneurial talent is now more important than ever. We cannot let the Sir Alan Sugars of tomorrow be thwarted by the recession.”

Last year's Million Makers challenge raised more than �500,000 to help disadvantaged young people into business.”

Million Makers 2009 is the largest employee fundraising initiative in the history of the trust. The Business Programme has helped more than 70,000 young people into business since 1983 and needs �1million every month to continue its work.

To sign up to Million Makers or for more information, call 020 7543 7420.