NewsWomen owned companies - better at bills Companies run by women directors pay their invoices on average 49% quicker than those with just men on the board. An analysis of over two million firms by business information firm Creditsafe shows that organisations with women-only boards paid invoices in less than 30 days, compared with almost 60 days for those made up of men-only. Additionally organisations with women-only directors are on average 51% more efficient at collecting debt compared to companies with male-only boards. For further information on the research contact: ewan.robertson@citigatedr.co.uk or visit: http://www.creditsafeuk.com/ Major new Women's Enterprise Centre for West Midlands The West Midlands has a new dedicated resource for the development of women's enterprise across the region following the announcement of WECOE (Women's Enterprise Centre of Expertise). Run by Prowess and funded by Advantage West Midlands, WECOE will operate at the strategic level to support the existing infrastructure of economic development throughout the region. It aims to reinforce the economic case for women's enterprise support, embed good practice and explore areas of market failure. WECOE will not provide direct business support itself but will work with existing organisations to increase the participation of women in enterprise activity throughout the region. For all further details contact Debra Blisson at d.blisson@prowess.org.uk Mum magnates attribute success to baby bounce Forty per cent of business owning mothers say they got their idea to start a business whilst pregnant or within a year of their baby being born. In addition 92% attribute their success to a range of skills developed after becoming a mother, including multi-tasking, planning ahead, a can-do attribute and negotiating. The research findings from Yell.com also show that 'mum magnates' contribute £4.4bn to the UK economy. Further information: http://bizmums.co.uk/media/4bde3a22/2224%20Yell%20com-Report_V17.pdf For the second year running Yell.com are sponsoring the much coveted Prowess Award for Inspirational Business Mum of the Year, for details visit: http://www.prowess.org.uk/awards/aboutawards.asp Prowess Awards 2008: Now open for nominations Celebrating the very best in women’s enterprise, the prestigious Prowess Awards 2008 are now open for nominations. These unique awards honour individuals from right across the business community who are changing the face of UK enterprise by championing female entrepreneurship. Including; the business women whose passion inspires others, the ‘unsung heroes’ of business support and the SME researchers who lead the way with progressive ideas. Now in their 4th year, the Prowess Awards have gone from strength to strength, last year attracting over 300 high calibre nominations. Sponsors this year include; HSBC, Yell.com, The Office of the Third Sector and the West Midlands Women's Enterprise Centre of Expertise which is supported by Advantage West Midlands. The closing date for nominations is 11 April 2008. For details of making a nomination visit: http://www.prowess.org.uk/awards/aboutawards.asp Profitability increases threefold with woman in the boardroom When women represent 30% of the Board of Directors the profitability of a company increases three fold according to new research from consultancy firm Gauvurin. The new report 'Women Executives in the UK' is based on analysis of two very large and robust datasets: the Companies’ House directors’ database and MLDB – the Market Location business to business database of around 2.2 million British companies. It also finds that the glass ceiling is getting thicker, with the proportion of all directors who are female falling from 43% in 1991 to 35% last year. Companies where all the directors were female still made up just 13% of all newly registered businesses, a proportion that has barely risen in a decade. Download the report at: http://www.gavurin.com/00,resource,5019,4896,00.htm Women's Enterprise key focus at Downing Street seminar The development of women's enterprise was a key agenda item at a recent seminar in Downing Street led by the Prime Minister. The seminar, also attended by Business and Enterprise Minister John Hutton and leading entrepreneurs, looked at building a new Government Enterprise Framework. Representatives from the women's enterprise sector included Women's Enterprise Task Force Co-Chair Pam Alexander and Prowess member Lucy Martin of Gina's Nannies. Issues discussed included; the importance of women-friendly business support and women-focused business centres and the economic case for supporting more women into enterprise. Click here to download the recent Government progress report on 'Building a new Enterprise Framework' Simplifying Business Support - Government consultation response The Government received over 300 responses to their consultation on plans to reduce the number of publicly-funded business support schemes in England to no more than 100 by 2010. In a new report 'Simplifying Business Support: Government response to consultation', BERR confirms that Business Link will be the primary publicly-funded access channel to business support and will provide brokerage where appropriate to fill gaps in provision. The full policy framework and vision for simplified business support will be announced in Spring 2008. Simplifying Business Support: Government response to consultation New Minister for Business and Competitiveness Following the Prime Ministers' 'mini-reshuffle' prompted by the resignation of Peter Hain, Baroness Shriti Vadera has been appointed Minister for Business and Competitiveness. She replaces Stephen Timms who moves to Work and Pensions. Timms was making significant progress in moving the women's enterprise agenda forward, Prowess will meet with Baroness Vadera at the earlier opportunity to ensure momentum is not lost. http://www.gnn.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=348949&NewsAreaID=2 Voice of small business ‘neutered’ in Whitehall Leading enterprise advisers to the Government have resigned from BERR's Small Business forum, claiming the voice of small business has been 'neutered' in Whitehall. Tony Robinson OBE, founder of SFEDI, the business enterprise training and support standards setting body and entrepreneur Elsa Caleb of ECJ Associates Ltd, resigned saying the Small Business Forum had become merely a tick box for an SME engagement agenda which focuses on one-off events rather than meaningful long-term dialogue and understanding. http://www.sfedi.co.uk/sfedi-news/news Cutting edge research on gender and entrepreneurship New research papers focusing on gender and entrepreneurship in over 12 countries will be presented at the 5th Annual International Prowess Conference in Peterborough on 20 - 21 February. The research strand is being sponsored by De Montfort University who have announced the final selection of papers which includes research from the United States, France, Bangladesh, Finland, Eastern Europe, the middle East, Africa and the UK. Full papers will be available to delegates at the conference. The host sponsor is the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) and the corporate sponsor is NatWest and RBS. There are still limited places available, for further details and to download a booking form visit: http://www.prowess.org.uk/conference/Fitforthefuture.htm New £130million grassroots programme seeks local funders Local third sector funders across the country are invited to become a local partner in delivering a £130million fund that will give grass roots third sector organisations access to grants. For further details see: http://www.cdf.org.uk/ |
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Prowess Member's NewsSWRDA lead on BAME female procurement event The South West Development Agency (SWRDA) is holding an event to enable black and Asian minority ethnic women to access procurement opportunities specifically in preparation for the 2012 Olympics. For further information contact Kirsty Lovell at SWRDA at kirsty.lovell@southwestrda.org.uk Inaugural East Midlands 'Women of Worth Awards' The East Midlands Development Agency (emda) is sponsoring a new awards programme. The East Midlands Women of Worth Awards celebrate the achievements of entrepreneurial, forward-thinking business women from across the region. Award categories include; Young Business of the Year, Most Innovative Business and the main award - Business Woman of the Year. Find full details at: www.emda.org.uk/wie/ Business enhancing experience for Somerset based women Part funding is available for women running or thinking about starting a business in the Somerset area to participate in the 'Business Enhancing Experience' (BEE). For further details contact Kath Gigg, KmG Management Consultants Ltd on 10460 234581 or kath.gigg@btinternet.com Female entrepreneurs have more options Female graduates who pursue entrepreneurship rather than a job after graduating will have more options, according to graduate and undergraduate advice service, Flying Start. Female graduates make up the highest percentage of graduates in a variety of degree areas, including art and design. In 2005, there were only about 6,000 graduate level jobs for art and design graduates in the UK and yet there were 56,000 plus art and design graduates. Dr Lorna Collins, Director of Flying Start, said: "As more students are exposed to entrepreneurship as part of their degree courses and as part of the curriculum, entrepreneurship will be demystified, become more commonplace and support specifically for women will become more available." http://www.flyingstart-ncge.com/ NWDA support BAME enterprise The call for nominations is now open for the EMBF Northwest Business Awards. Categories include; Female Entrepreneur of the Year and Social Enterprise of the Year. The EMBF NW Awards are free to enter and open to all Black Minority & Ethnic (BME) businesses in the Northwest that are privately owned and employ less than 500 people. Deadline for entries is 5pm on Friday 22nd February 2008. Further details: http://www.glasgows.co.uk/embfawards/ Street Cred selected for Bank of America Leadership Programme Quaker Social Action, the governing body of Street Cred, a Prowess Flagship organisation, has received the Bank of America’s 2007 Neighbourhood Builder Award. It is the first time the bank had awarded this in the UK. As part of the award Steet Cred is able to participate in the Bank of America Emerging Leadership Programme in the US over the next 10 months. Isebail MacKinnon from Street Cred has been selected to participate, she will ensure her learning is fed back to clients to enable them to develop leadership skills in their own businesses. |
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Social Enterprise NewsInnovative social enterprise support for women Sandwell Women's Enterprise Support Agency (SWEDA) has commissioned a special report into the innovative female-focused social enterprise activity being undertaken at The Learning Surgery of Halesowen College. The research carried out by Dr. Inge Hill finds that there is an urgent need to raise general awareness of social enterprise amongst community organisations struggling with the funding rollercoaster. It also calls for specialist women's social enterprise support and the mainstreaming of the new prodcuts, the DVD 'A cup of tea and a think' and the training tool 'The Pink Handbag'. For further details contact inge.hill@pathcreating.com and click here to download the full research paper. Proposals sought for a new centre for third sector research The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Office of the Third Sector (OTS) in the Cabinet Office and The Barrow Cadbury Trust have announced the call for proposals to establish a new independent, multidisciplinary research centre for the Third Sector. The centre will address the need for longitudinal and trend analysis data for the sector, will make the evidence base for the sector more accessible and will assess the impact of third sector policies. The deadline for receipt of applications is 4.00pm on Thursday 27th March 2008. http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/opportunities/ Leading female social entrepreneur appointed coalition Chair The Social Enterprise Coalition has named pioneering Liverpool-based entrepreneur Claire Dove as Chair - to replace Baroness Glenys Thornton. Claire is the CEO of Blackburn House Group, a training led organisation which runs a number of social enterprises providing career opportunities for women in non-traditional sectors such as construction and IT. http://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/Default.aspx Minister launches 'dragons den' for social enterprises Housing Minister Iain Wright has launched a £1.5 million 'Dragon's Den' style competition called 'Spark' at the offices of The Big Issue. The competition will enable hostels and homeless charities to pitch for financial support, mentoring and a business 'make-over' to grow their social enterprise businesses encouraging the development of employment opportunities and skills for homeless people. Tender opens for research into effective and innovative consultation with the third sector The Office of the Third Sector, in collaboration with the National Council of Voluntary Child Care Organisations (NCVCCO), is seeking to commission research into effective and innovative methods of consultation with the third sector.
The final deadline for the submission of tenders is
noon on Friday 15 February 2008. Further details: |
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Events
Fit for the Future: 5th Prowess Annual International Conference, 20 - 21st February 2008, Holiday Inn Peterborough West There are just two weeks to go until the leading event in the women's enterprise development calendar. Booking closes shortly, book your place today. This unmissable event attracts over 300 UK and international delegates. Get involved in interactive workshops, panel debates, speed networking and the women's enterprise market place and discuss all the hot topics in women's enterprise development. This year we are focusing on the future and making sure female entrepreneurs are given the right support to be at the forefront of a new enterprise movement. Host sponsor is the East of England Development Agency and the conference will be held in Peterborough, one of the most well connected cities in the UK. For a full conference programme and to book your place visit: http://www.prowess.org.uk/conference/Fitforthefuture.htm
The rest of this section is restricted to Prowess members. For information on how to join Prowess visit: http://www.prowess.org.uk/about/apply.htm
For details of events aimed at women entrepreneurs taking place in your area click on the map below, members remember you can add your events to the Prowess online clickable map quickly and easily at no cost:
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AwardsThe Prowess Awards 2008 - now open for nominations These unique awards honour individuals from right across the business community who are changing the face of UK enterprise by championing female entrepreneurship. Now in their 4th year, the Prowess Awards have gone from strength to strength, last year attracting over 300 high calibre nominations. HSBC and Yell.com are sponsoring the awards for a second time heading the much coveted ‘Outstanding Contribution to Women’s Enterprise Development’ and ‘Inspirational Business Mum’ awards respectively. New categories this year include the ‘Social Entrepreneur’ category supported by the Office of the Third Sector and the Ethnic Minority Business Woman Award supported by the Women’s Enterprise Centre of Expertise (WECOE) and Advantage West Midlands. Nominations are invited from across the UK. The closing date is Friday 11 April and the Awards will be presented at a high profile Awards ceremony in Birmingham in June 2008. For further details about the awards and the nomination process visit www.prowess.org.uk/awards/aboutawards.asp The rest of this section is restricted to Prowess members. For information on how to join Prowess visit: http://www.prowess.org.uk/about/apply.htm |
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New ResearchThis section is restricted to Prowess members. For information on how to join Prowess visit: http://www.prowess.org.uk/about/apply.htm
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MembersNew members of Prowess include: CNT Associates www.cntassociates.com Project North-East www.pne.org BizFizz www.bizfizz.org.uk Venture Navigator www.venturenavigator.co.uk New Women’s Enterprise Ambassador Members include: Jan Smith: EOL IT Services www.eolitservices.co.uk Genevieve Moody: The Flying Studio www.flyingstudio.co.uk Carol Wilson: The Spa Breakers www.thespabreakers.co.uk Paula Stockton: Simply Icons Ltd www.simplyicons.com Mel Henson: Words That Sell www.wordsthatsell.co.uk Marlene Suart: LeicestHERday Trust www.leicestherday.org.uk Vanessa Augustus: EQR Consultancy www.eqreview.co.uk Alyson Howard: Meta Corporate Finance Ltd www.metacf.co.uk Anya Ledwith ESHCon Ltd www.eshcon.co.uk Anne Draper: Advantage Projects Ltd www.advantageprojectsltd.co.uk Etta Cohen: Forward Ladies www.forwardladies.com Michele Rigby: Social Enterprise East of England www.seee.co.uk Jacqui Burke: Flourishing People www.flourishingpeople.co.uk Ruthie Collins: Positive World www.hipgirlentrepreneurs.blogspot.com Diane Pilling: Affordable Accounts: www.affordableaccounts.co.uk Lynne Hollingsworth: Hollingsworth Designs Ltd http://www.hdart.co.uk/ Deborah Taylor: Motivated Woman Ltd www.motivatedwoman.com
Join Prowess and become part of the UK alliance helping women to start and grow businesses: Click here for details of Prowess membership |
Prowess – The UK association of organisations and individuals who support women to start and grow businesses.Please send comments and news or information sources to a.kent@prowess.org.uk by the 28th of the month. If this newsletter has been forwarded to you and you would like to be kept informed about Prowess please e-mail your contact details to a.kent@prowess.org.uk . Let us know too if you want to be taken off the mailing list at any time. This newsletter is produced for information only. While we believe the content is accurate we can accept no responsibility for any errors or omissions. Prowess is happy for recipients to forward and redistribute items in this Ezine, however we ask that Prowess is credited as the source and that where appropriate there is a link to our website. © Prowess Ltd 2008. Lion House, 20-28 Muspole Street, Norwich NR3 1DJ Tel 01603 762355 Fax 01603 227090 www.prowess.org.uk - the UK-wide gateway to local women friendly business support |
