To celebrate the places inspiring creativity and driving regional economic growth, VodafoneThree is bringing ‘Opportunity Hubs’ to communities across the country, helping people use connectivity to turn inspiration into action.
Research by OnePoll.com found that more than 17 million sparks of inspiration are turned into side hustles or small businesses across the UK every year.1
Among those who have launched a business or side hustle, 11% said the idea came to them while spending time alone. A further 9% were inspired through conversations with friends or family, while 8% had their breakthrough moment while out for a walk.
Vodafone’s Opportunity Hubs, including the hub in Abergavenny, will help people take those first steps by offering practical workshops delivered by Enterprise Nation.
Alongside free professional headshots and expert guidance, the sessions will demonstrate how connectivity can help turn ideas into hobbies, side hustles and successful businesses.
Angharad’s connectivity story
Angharad Underwood, 54, grew up making natural preserves with her mum and grandmothers, launching ‘The Preservation Society’ in 2010 – an artisan food business selling preserves made from locally sourced ingredients.
The farmer’s daughter was inspired during the pandemic to create a cooking school for children, having began cooking things her family was craving, but could no longer access due to lockdowns.
They shared their recipes online, and after getting a huge response, launched ‘The Cookalong Clwb’, bringing her classes to schools in Abergavenny to teach children how to cook healthy meals from scratch.
As well as going into schools, ‘The Cookalong Clwb’ now also teaches disabled adults and elderly people.
How connectivity can support communities
Angharad’s story comes as research, commissioned by VodafoneThree, reveals how mobile connectivity can help turn individual inspiration into community-based opportunity.
The study of 2,000 Brits suggests that 74% feel inspired by their everyday surroundings, and 55% claim that their local area acts as fuel for their inspiration.
It also emerges that 92% find their phone helpful for capturing or developing ideas, while many have used their connection to work remotely (22%), collaborate with other people (20%) and share creative work (18%).
“I’m always on the move, so connectivity is really important”
“It’s all about getting people, especially children, confident with food and ingredients,” says Angharad.
“It’s great to get them together and cook together, to socialise if they wanted to, and to share food.
Angharad is constantly using her phone to capture inspiration and ideas for new healthy recipes when she’s out and about.
“I’m always on the move, I’m always going places, so connectivity is really important. I have my phone all the time, because we’re always looking at ingredients.
“Sharing posts on social media also really helps to grow my business – you need to have a presence. You need to be able to share your story and to inspire others.
Opportunity Hubs: Everything you need to know
Each Opportunity Hub will be located in an area which has seen significant network upgrades as part of VodafoneThree’s £11 billion investment to build the UK’s best network.
Initially visiting Mansfield, Bourne, Hoddesdon, Rottingdean, Tynemouth and Abergavenny, the pop-up Hubs will transform local venues in the heart of each community.
As a result, they will become spaces where people can: explore new ideas; access practical tools; and take the next step towards turning inspiration into a hobby, side hustle or small business.
1 Research was conducted online by OnePoll among a nationally representative sample of 2,000 UK adults, representative by age, gender and region, between 12 and 17 August 2026.
