Robert Matthams, A 25-year-old from London has recently won the Shell Livewire Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2009, which gives him £10,000 cash for his carbon-friendly transport site, a site similar to eBay.

His online business, Shiply provides an online marketplace where people list items they need to move and then receive bids in a reverse auction format from over 5,000 rated transport companies going there anyway. By making use of spare capacity in Lorries, consumers can save up to 75% on their deliveries. The business has been going for just over a year and has already saved over 1.6million kg of CO2 by making use of spare capacities. The business has over 40,000 customers and has saved its customers over £3million in reduced transportation bills.

After winning the award, Mr Matthams said:

“I’m thrilled to have won such a prestigious award. Some people might say it’s mad to set up a business in a recession but I always had confidence in the strength of my business idea. The last twelve months have been amongst the most exciting of my life and I can’t wait to take my business to the next level on the back of this award. This country is full of entrepreneurial talent and support networks like Shell Livewire are a great way to share ideas and get inspiration from people, just like me, determined to make a success of their businesses.”