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NEWS
Minister calls on regions to recognise
untapped potential of women’s
enterprise SBS to celebrate women’s enterprise on
International Women’s Day Women own just 10% of London
Businesses US sees 33% increase in minority
women-owned businesses Northwest announce launch of Women’s
Steering Group Launch of Women’s Business Advisers’
Network (WBAN) Ensure Women’s Enterprise in NW
Strategy
Non-
Members Edition Women’s Enterprise Study Trip to
Sweden – agenda available | ||||
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EVENTS Women
in Rural Enterprise 6th Annual Conference 1st
European Conference of Women Entrepreneurs The
British Female Inventors & Innovators Conference, Exhibition &
Awards 2005 East
Midlands Women in Business Conference Women
in Business International Forum Women
in Technology Conference |
FUNDING Partnership
Investment Finance (PIF) Women
in Business Fund – Cornwall | |||
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RESEARCH Worth
the Risk: Women Business Owners and Growth Capital Fellowships
to study women offenders Sex
and power: Who runs Britain? 2005 |
AWARDS Inspirational Women Business Awards
2005 London African Caribbean Entrepreneur
(LACE) Awards 2005 Asian Women of Achievement Awards
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VACANCIES
Outreach Officer – Workshadowing Project –
WEETU Outreach Team Administrator –
WEETU Regional Development Manager , South
East – CDFA Business Club Network officer
–Hereford and Worcester – WiRE
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MEMBERS | |||
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NEWS GEM 2004 shows significant
growth in women’s entrepreneurship The
gap between the number of female and male entrepreneurs in the
Minister calls on regions to
recognise untapped potential of
women’s enterprise Jacqui Smith, Minister for
Women and Equality has continued her tour of the regions to contribute to
the key objective of increasing the number of women starting and growing
businesses across the English regions. In the East of England she took
part in a roundtable discussion led by the Chief Executive of the East of
England Development Agency (EEDA). There are over 100,000 women owned
businesses in the East of England, but if the female start up rate matched
that of men there would be an extra 16,000. In the SBS to celebrate women’s
enterprise on International Women’s Day The Small Business Service
(SBS) will mark International Women’s Day and the culmination of Jacqui
Smith’s regional tour with a high profile event in
Women own just 10% of
Majority female owned
businesses account for just one in ten of all
http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/economic_unit/docs/womenlondoneconomy.pdf US sees 33% increase in
minority women-owned businesses Between 1997 and 2004, the
number of African American women-owned firms increased by 33%, growing at
six times the rate of all U.S firms. As of 2004 there are an estimated
414,472 majority-owned privately held firms owned by African American
women in the US, employing nearly 254,000 people and generating $19.5
billion in sales. The US Small Business Association says this growth is
due to a range of factors including; increasing levels of education, work
experience and a desire for greater flexibility. The ‘glass ceiling’ is
also said to disproportionately affect African American women and leads
them to decide to do for themselves what they can’t do in a corporate
setting. The new statistics have been released by the US National Women’s
Business Council as part of a fact sheet to mark
Northwest announce Women’s
Steering Group The
Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) has announced the launch of a
Women’s Steering Group to promote and encourage enterprising women in the
region. The group, formally known as the Women’s Strategic Board, will
develop a regional strategy for women’s enterprise and advise the agency
on good practice initiatives for women’s enterprise. It will also work to
influence regional, national and European government policies and make
recommendations on the appropriate support for women’s enterprise. Sylvia
Philips of Bolton Business Ventures has been appointed chair of the new
steering group. Chris Rogan, NWDA Director of Business Skills Northwest,
said “It is vital that we create an environment and culture that
encourages more women to start and grow businesses”.
Launch of Women’s
Business Advisers’ Network (WBAN) The
WBAN is aimed at women providing business advice. It is an entirely
internet based network open to women business advisers across the
Ensure Women’s
A new
consultation document from the North West Regional Assembly, highlights
‘Supporting women in business and encouraging more women into enterprise’
as a proposed regional priority. The report recognises that ‘women are
playing an increasingly important role in enterprise within the Northwest,
but that support is often inadequate’ and there ‘is a lack of mainstream
funding’. ‘Action for Equality’ asks a series of consultation questions
and asks respondents to highlight their priorities. Deadline for responses
is Valuable new
resource for Network Coordinators Full
of practical guidance on running a successful network, The Blue Book, is a
comprehensive new resource from the Women’s Business Network. A lot of
business opportunities come through formal and informal networks and they
can be an excellent source of support. The structure and nature of
traditional networks can often create a barrier to women. The Blue Book
explains the value of women’s business networks and includes information
and inspiration to anyone wanting to develop a new network and encourage
women in business. The guide has been developed over two years and is the
result of contributions from network co-ordinators across
Women’s
The
PROWESS Women’s Enterprise Week will take
place this year from the 14th to the 20th of November. A full post event
report from the inaugural Enterprise Week, held last November, is now
available at: http://www.starttalkingideas.org/aboutus/2004report/index.php Promote
Procurement – Get involved The
SBS will soon be launching a new national web portal to enable small
businesses to have direct access to local and central government business
opportunities. This service has been piloted in the West Midlands, where
it was found that there was a real lack of training opportunities for
businesses who want to find out ‘How to Tender’. To fill this gap in the
market the West Midlands Procurement Portal are looking to hold a series
of 1 day ‘How to Tender’ workshops. They are currently looking for
business support agencies to collaborate with in the hosting and
delivering of these. If you are interested in finding out more contact,
Richard Dooner on 0121 450 4239 or email: r.dooner@birminhgamchamber.org.uk
www.wmportal.co.uk | ||||
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Women in Rural
Conference aimed at all rural
women entrepreneurs, from those with just an idea, through to start-up and
growth. The conference, in association, with country living magazine is
entitled: Strategies for Success: Marketing your Rural Business. There
will be motivational speakers, inspirational stories and a choice of
workshops, including; Impress the Press – telling your story and writing
press releases, How much are you worth – pricing your product and The
Visitor Economy – tapping into tourism. Further information:
www.wireuk.org 1st
European Conference of Women Entrepreneurs
The theme of this conference
is ‘Women entrepreneurs across frontiers – a European network for women
entrepreneurs’. Presentations include; ‘How the EU promotes
entrepreneurship among women’, ‘Risk financing, Finish experiences of
microcredit for women entrepreneurs’ and ‘Women
resource centres – a concept of Entrepreneurship across frontiers. Further
details: http://www.yrittajanaiset.fi/index.php?k=4336 The British
Female Inventors & Innovators Conference, Exhibition & Awards
2005 Greenwich, London 16 – 17
February, £65 –
185 Organised by the Global Women
Inventors and Innovators Network, this is an annual showcase of creative,
technical and entrepreneurial talent. A total of 50 award finalists are
exhibiting in various categories including; inventors and innovators,
innovation in industry, exceptional creativity and capacity-building initiatives(It is free to attend the exhibition). A two
day conference will focus on the role of universities and government
agencies in promoting and supporting innovation. The event will culminate
with a gala dinner and the announcement of the 2005 awards winners on the
17 Feb. For further
information call 020 8223 7786 or visit:
http://www.gwiin.com/ Aimed at business women or
those considering business in
Women in Business
International Forum
Aimed primarily at women
entrepreneurs as an international networking opportunity but also seeking
to involve women interested in the strategic development of their national
economies. Conference themes include; women in entrepreneurship,
globalisation and business development and developing models for
sustainable and community businesses. For further information see:
http://www.forwomeninbusiness.com/ EnterpriseFest
2005
Annual one day conference
hosted by
Capitalwoman
London, 5 March,
Free and open to all.
The mayor’s annual capitalwoman conference is a major part of the Mayor’s
ongoing programme of engagement and consultation with women in
Women in
Technology Conference
A unique conference dedicated
to opening doors for women entrepreneurs in the East of England’s hi-tech
and life science sectors. This full day event will enable existing and
aspiring women entrepreneurs to share experiences, discuss barriers and
identify the keys to encourage more women-led start-ups. PROWESS will be
launching a new report on ‘Women Friendly Incubation Environments and
Managed Workspaces’ at the conference. For further details see:
http://www.enterprise.cam.ac.uk/witc/ | ||||
