Imagining Growth - Brussels
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Imagining Growth - Brussels
- 1. Women’s Enterprise: A European Journey
- 2. PROGRESS • Where did we start? • Where are we now? • How did we do it? • Have we made a difference? • What will we do in the future?
- 3. Where did we start?
- 6. Where Did We Start?
- 7. Where did We Start?
- 8. Superwoman?
- 9. Where are we now? A comprehensive Women’s Enterprise Support Service capable of replication in any country in the world
- 10. How Did We Do It?
- 12. How did we do it?
- 13. How did we do it?
- 14. How did we do it? THE WOMEN’S ECONOMY
- 15. Partners 2009 - 2014 • AFAEMME, Barcelona • APID, Torino • Biella Chamber of Commerce, Piedmont • Italian Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria • NBJ Associates, Italy • Polish Chamber of Commerce, Warsaw • University of Birmingham Business School, UK • West Midlands European Office, Brussels • Women’s Business Development Agency/ The Women’s Economy, UK
- 16. How did we do it? Transference Adaptation Improvement
- 17. Did We Make a Difference?
- 18. Did We Make a Difference? Recommendations include Creating an office of Women's Business Ownership within the European Commission and Member States’ competent ministries. It should preferably not be situated in the gender ministries to provide a clear distinction between economic enterprise activities and gender equality responsibilities. It must have a serious mandate with targets and resources. OPINION of the European Economic and Social Committee On Female entrepreneurs – specific policies to increase EU growth and employment July 2012
- 19. Did we make a difference? • Over 200 women in 5 countries intensively trained and mentored • Multi Media training resources capable of use anywhere in the world • Blueprint for an international quality standard • A toolkit for international access to finance networks for women.
- 20. Did We Make a Difference?
- 21. What about the Future?
- 22. The Women’s Economy Network Italy Poland Spain You?
Editor's Notes
- Introductions Pleasure today to present to you a short review of our programme and the opportunity to hear about our European journey from the people who made it happen. Of course journeys don’t happen without tickets. And we shall always be grateful for the generous finacial support of the LDV Lifelong Learning Programme over the last 5 years.
- Across the world 15 years ago policy makers saw w.e.s. not seen as an economic issue. Women were encouraged to start lifestyle businesses; usually exchanging low pay for low profits. Their businesses were seen to come from the need to put food on the table rather from the desire to innovate and grow. Women’s enterprise policies, if they existed were firmly in the box marked either equal opportunities or poverty reduction if they were at home or international aid, if abroad. At that time little understanding of the economic potential women represented As it still largely the case today, the language of business growth, access to finance structures and opportunities, insider knowledge and business networking was set to a default position, and that position was male
- I was able to access nearly half a million pounds of funding between 2001 and 2003 to support poverty stricken women, immigrant women, refugee women, disabled women, educationally challenged women and female ex criminals into business using our women-friendly methodology.. Nobody would give me a single penny to support women already in business to break through into that special place that men could access so readily in order to grow their business. WHY?
- 2 reasons - 1. Growth is gender neutral; there is one way to do it. Business is business – a very seductive argument that of course ignores the challenges of isolation from power networks, access to finance and the reality of family responsibilities 2. Lack of female growth is a result of female shortcomings - never underestimate how deeply this is believed by the business and finance communities.
- HBR Forecast that women’s economic power in 2014 would be greater than that of India and China combined. Where was all this wealth supposed to be coming from? It can’t be just divorce settlements as some (male) economists would have you believe. No, female earning power, comes increasingly from senior corporate positions but also – critically for us, from the rise and rise of women’s growth –oriented businesses, particularly in women under 40. These are the fastest-growing business in America, and we are seeing the same trend in the UK.
- No, we are not talking about Superwomen when we talk about growth, innovation, acceleration. We mean those women who have started their own business, have succeeded and who want to go to the next level but would like some support to get there. Also to get there together with others, growth can be very lonely. By designing a methodology in the UK and testing it between 2005-2008 ( and yes, we got the government to pay in the end –those wonderful days before the recession) we demonstrated that there were just as significant gender-based issues for female businesses growth as there were for start-up. We showed that our specialist programmes – led to turnovers increasing from 30-100% in the 12 months following our assistance. Having taken our own advice we were hungry for new opportunities so we decided to see whether our success could be replicated in other countries or was it perhaps just a result of UK conditions.
- After our first programme, which was a growth training and mentoring service for women-owned businesses, we found that there was considerable demand from partners for 2 major new resources. These were Intensive investment readiness and access to finance resources 2. A programme to engage and support women who faced particular challenges. This could be ethnicity, poverty, redundancy, age or living in areas significant unemployment In our second programme, the one we are here to tell you about today. We completed our work and together ilthave b a comprehensive women’s enterprise service, capable of supporting women at every stage of their business development. Our methodology is transformational (explain) rather than transactional and embraces the challenges of all women from the most economically and socially deprived to the highest achievers.
- 2 highly experienced and respected women’s business associations
- You will hear in detail from our partners, our mentors and our women entrepreneurs Testament to mentors getting the plot and giving far more than we had a right to ask – essence of transformational support Group training in investment readiness and the meaning of growth, one-to-one mentoring Just explain the concept, the blueprint and they can explain it themselves Add ons – lobbying, toolkit, international standard – because w.e.s. is not enough in isolation, has to be part of a wider movement.
- In practice Yes we did – and you will here form some of these remarkable women in a minute.
- Sustainability Yes we did
- We are not wasting the Years of building expertise, learning, Years of lobbying, persuading and begging, shouting The experience and wisdom of our participants, our entrepreneurs, our trainers, our mentors. The research and resources we have built up along the way The sharing, the friendship, the respect that we have for each other, which is the magic glue that held us together.
- We will create An international, web-based investment readiness, access to finance network and innovation exchange hub for women entrepreneurs. An expert consultancy to train and mentor organizations in specialist business support for women entrepreneurs An international standard of exellence for the support of women-owned businesses. A centre of excellence for resources to support women and girls in making informed choices about their economic futures. For those of you who are from other organizations and other countries, we extend a warm welcome if you would like to join us on our journey. And to my partners, who are now my friends. Thank you for enriching my life and my journey. Lobbying and advocacy for women entrepreneurs at all levels It will have the umbrella name of The Women’s Economy