Cycling 3,000 miles across desert wastelands, dusty plains and over towering mountains isn't everyone's idea of fun.
But it offered budding entrepreneur Lawrence Brand the perfect opportunity to put his prototype cargo bike through its paces.
The 27-year-old from Hackney spent three months road testing his invention, which features a 60cm deck built across a longer wheelbase to carry bulky and heavy goods in urban areas.
He cycled from Romania through Bulgaria, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, before finishing in Kazakhstan on the border of China.
After flying back to the UK and with the design fully trialled and tested, Lawrence was itching to put his business idea into full scale production, but needed help to get his company, Porterlight Bicycles, up and running.
Out of work at the time, Lawrence found out about the New Enterprise Allowance, a government scheme that gives jobseekers funding for their business ideas and on-going support from their own dedicated mentor.
Lawrence said: "There was a huge amount to consider when I started developing my UK cargo bike company Porterlight Bicycles."
Each of his bikes is built by hand to the customer's own specification using high quality materials the likes of which are used in the aerospace industry. And his business is going from strength to strength.
In the three years since its launch, Porterlight has grown from the kernel of an idea into an expanding business that exporting to countries including France, Spain and even Australia.
Lawrence has taken on two members of staff and has premises in Tottenham, North London.
As he ratchets up production to cope with increased demand, he plans to take on even more staff and is considering hiring an apprentice.
The Government has pledged to create 3 million more apprenticeships by 2020.
"The NEA was a great help for me to take those first steps of forming my own company and getting it off the ground. It forced me to clarify my ideas, and distil them into a realistic business plan."
The Minister for Employment, Damian Hinds, visited Lawrence to hear how the NEA has benefited him and what his plans are for the future.
The Employment Minister said: "As we build a better Britain that works for all, not just the privileged few, the NEA is playing its part by giving tens of thousands of people the confidence and support that they need to be their own boss."
The NEA is open to jobseekers over the age of 18 who are claiming Jobseekers Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance, plus Income Support claimants who are lone parents or who are sick, and some Universal Credit claimants.
After showing their business idea is viable, NEA participants are eligible for a weekly allowance worth up to £1,274 over 26 weeks for claimants to establish their start-up.
Jobseekers have launched more than 100,000 new businesses across the UK through the NEA.
61% were men and 39% were women, 69% were aged between 25 and 49, 21% have a disability
