Backing Winners - The Dead Cert for an Enterprising Nation
Awards The winners of the Prowess Awards 2007 were announced at the 4th Annual International conference in Brighton and applauded by over 300 delegates at the glitzy gala dinner.
These awards are unique in taking a holistic view of women's enterprise development and celebrating individuals and organisations from across the whole sector who together are shaping a women-friendly enterprise culture. We were overwhelmed by the number of nominations, many of which were of the highest calibre.
The independent judging panel including leading female entrepreneurs and business support providers. Our thanks to: Sylvia Philips, Chair of the Judging Panel, Bolton Business Ventures and Prowess Vice-Chair, Dawn Gibbibs, CEO Flowcrete, Penny Newman, CEO and Founder Cafe Direct, Sahar Hashemi, author and founder of Coffee Republic and Sally Preston, CEO Babylicious.
The winners and finalists in each category were:
Outstanding Contribution to Women’s Enterprise Development – sponsored by ACCA This Award is for the individual who has made the most outstanding contribution to positively progressing the policy, economic or cultural environment for women entrepreneurs.
Winner:
Izzy Warren-Smith OBE, Director of Women in Rural Enterprise (WiRE) Izzy’s ground-breaking research led to the formation on WiRE in 1996 and has had immense impact on government policy.
Finalists:
Prof Sara Carter, Director Entrepreneurship and Research Centre, University of Stirling. For 20 years Sara has engaged in research which has been instrumental in driving the policy agenda for women’s entrepreneurship in the UK.
Valerie Dwyer, Board Member, East Midlands Development Agency. Valerie is a tireless champion of women’s enterprise, giving 100% to all she is involved in across the East Midlands region. A serial entrepreneur herself, she has lived her dreams and it is that passion that has inspired so many others.
Inspirational Woman – sponsored by HSBC The Award is for a woman entrepreneur who is an outstanding role model and active supporter of other women
Winner:
Hilary Devey Hilary has grown the Pall-Ex Group to a multi-million pound company with national and international reach since re-mortgaging her house 10 years to start the business. She also advises and supports female traders in Africa.
Finalists:
Jan Cavelle, The Jan Cavelle Furniture Company Jan has built up a very successful business from scratch. She also actively supports the Dido project, which promotes women in non-traditional occupations.
Ratna Vohora, the Vitality Centre Ratna’s focus of interacting with the local community, supporting the Centre’s practitioners and fostering an inclusive business culture has not compromised the growth of her business.
Business support Professional of the Year – Sponsored by Prowess This Award is for an individual who provides outstanding support to women starting or growing their businesses.
Winner:
Zainab Yasmeen, Business Adviser/Mentor, ATL (Yorkshire Ltd). Zainab has raised the standard in client expectations, setting a benchmark for internal and external colleagues.
Finalists:
Ruth Rowe, Women into Business Adviser, Business in Focus, Bridgend Ruth’s dynamism and positive energy inspires and motivates her clients to achieve beyond their expectations.
Kath Tatlock, Business Support Network, Women in Business, Devon Kath has strong personal and professional values in both her paid and voluntary roles. She firmly believes that her role is to be a facilitator.
Chrystelle Benkhelil, Enterprise Enfield Chrystelle has the ability to advise and empower people from all walks of life. She has raised significant funding packages for several of the businesses she has advised.
Making an Impact – sponsored by SEEDA This award is for outstanding use of data and statistics to make the case for women’s enterprise support.
Winner:
Prof Sara Carter, Director, Entrepreneurship and Research Centre, University of Stirling Sara has an outstanding reputation in the field of female entrepreneurship and was one of the first UK academics to explore the links between gender and enterprise.
Finalists:
Dr Rebecca Harding Rebecca has been at the forefront of entrepreneurship research for several years and has always ensured effective gender analysis within her work.
Dr Sandra Fielden Sandra has conducted groundbreaking research in the field of female entrepreneurship over the last 10 years.
Innovator Award – Sponsored by Lloyds TSB Business This is an organisational award for innovation in the field of women’s enterprise support.
Winner:
University of Bedfordshire, Centre for Women’s Enterprise. The CWE launched the UK’s first women-only Masters in Business Administration (MBA) for Developing Businesses via Supported Learning.
Finalists:
Stargate Capital Capital Management Ltd for the Trapezia Women-focused Equity Fund. The first Venture Capital Fund in the UK dedicated to investing in businesses where women have an influential role.
The Her Business Centre. Based in Newham, one of the poorest boroughs in Britain. Her Business has developed one of the most innovative and ’transformational’ enterprise support services for women.
West Midlands Regional Women’s Enterprise Unit (RWEU). A seamless programme of targeted and mainstream business support for women, supported by AWM. A best practice example for other Regions.
Female Business Mentor of the Year - sponsored by Intuit QuickBooks This is an award for an outstanding volunteer mentor.
Winner:
Susan Edgar Susan has managed a significant caseload for over 9 years. Many of her mentees identify Susan’s support as critical to their business success.
Finalists:
Clive Lunn, Sheffield Hallam University. The young women Clive has mentored from the Enterprise Centre, Sheffield Hallam University have had quite outstanding success in national competitions.
Kai McCabe Search Consultancy Ltd Kai brings outstanding business skills and experience to her mentoring role and not only moves businesses on but stays with them.
Pratibha Hindocha, Cattalyst Pritibha is determined to share her own experience as an Asian immigrant who’s set up a successful business.
Press Award – sponsored by BHP Information Solutions This is the Award for the author of a press or media feature which most compellingly and progressively captures the issues facing women business owners.
Winner:
John Carlin Nominated for The Observer, Woman’s Magazine article ‘John Carlin meets the inspirational banker Mohammad Yunus in Bangladesh’. A passionate account of how micro-credit has changed the lives of thousands of women.
Finalists:
Eleanor Wason Reuters, nominated for ’Female entrepreneurs neglected by government’ and ’Rural and ethnic women starting new businesses’. Compelling articles which capture a range of the issues facing women in business.
Pam Woodhall Nominated for The Economist article ’A guide to Womenenomics’. Strong economic analysis suggesting women are the most powerful engine of global growth.
Inspirational Business Mum – sponsored by Yellow Pages This Award is for an entrepreneurial mum who’s got the balance right and with a story to inspire many others.
Winner:
Sarah Steele, The Old Station Nursery Sarah started her own nursery in 1999 after struggling to find appropriate places for her own young children. She now has a thriving chain of 8 nurseries and a work-life balance to die for.
Finalists:
Katie Mayne, TinyTalk baby signing classes Katie founded TinyTalk after teaching her son Harry to use sign language when he was just 7 months old. She has franchised the programme and there are now 91 qualified tutors, teaching over 2000 babies each week. Katie was given a special mention by the judges and was Highly Comended.
Susan Moore, Party Crew Working as a Company Director Susan missed her 3 children and felt guilty about not seeing them enough. She now has a refreshing balance in her life, employs 26 women and is a market leader set to grow further.
Abiola Ajayi-obe, Smartchartz Founder of Smartchartz, incentive charts that encourage young children to behave and learn better. The charts are sold online and in 10 stores nationwide including Selfridges.
Nadine Lewis, Identikids Nadine has invented children’s identity wrist bands, a simple yet valuable product now being distributed by major retailers including Boots and Mothercare.
Click for full conference details including conference programme
Prowess acknowledges the support of:
The research strand of the conference is coordinated by the Centre for Women's Enterprise, University of Bedfordshire. For further information contact Azam Roomi, Centre for Women's Enterprise: muhammad.roomi@beds.ac.uk
