BOURNEMOUTH East MP Tobias Ellwood visited a local business to see an example of the town’s growing creative and digital economy in action.

Mr Ellwood visited BeBirbal, a new video sharing app which allows users to edit and upload short clips and to challenge other users to create a chain of similar videos.

The app was created in Bournemouth by Olly Whittle, owner and founder of SWARM Marketing, a social media marketing agency which has been operating for six years. It is based at the co-working studio Nest Space on St Peter’s Road.

Mr Whittle said: “There is a real buzz about the creative and digital economy in Bournemouth, which is really at an exciting stage.

“What we want to show is that this economy already exists and is thriving, and with the right support and recognition has the potential to grow even more.

“We want to demonstrate that Bournemouth is the ideal place to run a business in this sector – because of the creative talent that already exists here and the location itself and all it has to offer.”

He added: “This is a beautiful part of the world with a beautiful beach, and a naturally-inspiring place to work.

“It is important to showcase the type of development that is happening here, to encourage businesses within the same industry to connect and support each other, and to demonstrate just what a great creative and digital economy Bournemouth already has.”

Business leaders, entrepren-eurs and MPs signed an agreement a year ago to support the growth of the town’s creative and digital economy, known as Silicon Beach.

Mr Ellwood said: “Since the signing of the agreement, I have met with other leaders, digital businesses, the two universities, representatives of the games industry, the leader of the local council, council officers, and many others who are seeking to ensure that the enthusiasm and the pledges made at the con-ference are carried forward.

“I have been and will continue to be very involved in fulfilling what I signed up to at the original meeting.

“Companies like Olly’s are exactly what we need to get behind to show that Bourne-mouth has a thriving creative and tech economy and can attract businesses, from new start-ups to established larger businesses, to come to the area and stay.”