NUMBER 1Spring/Summer2003

WOMEN’SENTERPRISESTRATEGICFRAMEWORKCHANGING THE FACE OF BUSINESSSUPPORT IN THE UK

Statesof

ChangeWhy the US leads the waysupporting its enterprising women

PHOENIXRISINGA DRIVING FORCE FOR WOMEN’SENTERPRISE IN THE UK

SPRING/SUMMER 2003

WelcomeWelcome to the first edition of ‘ProwessProfile’. You may already be familiar withour monthly email newsletter whichprovides updates on women’s enterpriseactivity, research and policy development.We keep the e-zine as short and punchyas possible to avoid electronic overload,but ‘Prowess Profile’, which will bepublished bi-annually, gives us the chanceto explore issues in more detail andprovide a more leisurely read.

In this 2003 Spring/Summer edition, weare highlighting initiatives from differentparts of the UK, hearing about women’senterprise development in the UnitedStates – and finding out about thePhoenix Development Fund and its future plans.

Encouraging more women intoenterprise has become a political andeconomic priority in recent years. And theimportance of addressing women’s under-representation in business has beenhighlighted in a number of recentGovernment reports. These arehighlighted in a review of policydevelopments on page 5. And if you’renot up-to-date with recent research onthe issue, you’ll find a summary on page 11.

We hope you enjoy ‘Prowess Profile’and would welcome your views and ideasfor future editions.

Erika WatsonExecutive Director

“The Prowess launch was very polishedand professional, but also managed tobe warm and inclusive. I felt veryenergised and excited after the day.Prowess looks like it will be a greatsuccess and we can't wait to getinvolved!”

Comments like those about theProwess launch on 30th October 2002,confirmed that rather than strugglingagainst the tide – Prowess is being pulledalong by an expectant and committed

sector of professionals already working todevelop women-friendly business supportand financial services.

Keynote speaker Patricia Hewitt,Secretary of State for Trade and Industry,emphasised strong commitment from thegovernment as well: “Womenentrepreneurs can and do make a vitalcontribution to our economy,” she said.“The fact remains that too few womenmake the leap and set up in business. Andwhen they do, they start with unique

IN PROFILE

Prowess’s

maidenvoyage

Patricia Hewitt, Secretary ofState for Trade and Industry,

at the Prowess launch

NewprojectsIt’s becoming a buoyant sector; in the last sixmonths the following initiatives have emerged:

BOLTON BUSINESS VENTURES launched its Women inBusiness Initiative providing four women businessadvisors and a £700,000 loan fund to support womenentrepreneurs in Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale andWigan. info@bbvonline.net 01204 391400

KIDS CLUB NETWORK set up its Kids Club Mean Businessprogramme to help people set up childcare businesses in someof the most deprived communities.Simon.goldsborough@kidsclub.org.uk 0207 512 2112

BUSINESS WOMEN’S LINK was launched in Leicestershireto provide a network to encourage entrepreneurship andsupport women in business. 0845 070 0086

ENTERPRISING BELFAST set up its Enterprise AwarenessProgramme for women aimed at increasing the level ofenquiries about starting a business and generating a moreenterprising culture. Marian@eastbelfast.org 02890 455450

TRAIN 2000 launched its £500,000 Power Business LoanFund directly targeting women in Merseyside setting upor developing a business who have traditionally beenexcluded from other sources of loan finance. www.train-2000.co.uk 0151 236 6601

THE WEAVE PROJECT was set up in north Belfast to providedisenfranchised women with a range of skills that will enablethem to initiate, develop and manage microenterprises and tocreate self-employment opportunities.Noraquigley@hotmail.com 02890 352165

BUSINESS LINK CHESHIRE AND WARRINGTON launchedits ESF Women Entrepreneurs project Web Works forWomen to provide free IT training to womenentrepreneurs and managers.Yvonne.sampson@blinkcw.co.uk 01925 715200

ENTERPRISING COMMUNITIES was launched in Hertfordshire toadvise women, young people and ethnic minorities on self-employment. Sue.lawton@stevenage.gov.uk 01438 313107

THE WEBS PROJECT was set up by the Women’sElectronic Village Hall in Manchester to help local womenbusiness owners to expand their business by providingtraining and support about using new technologieseffectively. Sally.jones@wevh.org.uk 0161 953 4049

PAGE 3 | PROWESS PROFILE

challenges: access to finance; balancing caringresponsibilities with the demands of business; access toappropriate business support and training; the use ofinformation and communications technologies; and to betaken seriously as business owners, employers, andcontributors to economic growth.”

Ms Hewitt was addressing the 250-strong audience ofdelegates from business support organisations throughoutthe UK, gathered in Central Hall, Westminster. She wenton to say: “It is clear that an opportunity exists for us inthe UK to provide more structured support for the start-up and development of women-owned businesses. Andthat, of course, is where Prowess comes in. I’m delightedthat the Small Business Service will be working togetherwith Prowess to develop a strategy for meeting thetargets we have discussed today – to greatly increase thenumber of women-owned business start-ups.”

The event included speeches from Peter Ibbetson,Head of Business Banking at NatWest (which, with theRoyal Bank of Scotland, supported the event), ErikaWatson, Executive Director of Prowess, and Professor SaraCarter, who presented the key findings of the Prowesscommissioned research report ‘Restricted Access: Women-owned businesses in profile’. Following a networkinglunch, the afternoon session of business supportshowcase presentations included organisations fromNorthern Ireland, Wales, England and Scotland and aquestion and answer session.

L-R Tricia Dinan, Prowess Chair; Patricia Hewitt,Secretary of State for Trade and Industry; Erika Watson, Prowess Executive Director, Nigel Griffiths, Minister for Small Business

Questions to theSecretary of State atthe Prowess launch

POLICY AND PRACTICE

JulieBishopAcleanstartJULIE BISHOP RUNS an inspirational domestic and office cleaning servicetargeting green consumers in the Norfolk area. 'Living Clean' uses onlyenvironmentally friendly products. The drive to start her business stemmedfrom the ill health of her family. Her father attributed his cancer toenvironmental factors and Julie's young son was hospitalised with severeasthma triggered by air pollution. Anxieties about leaving her son during theday, as well as a lack of business confidence, hindered development of thebusiness until Julie heard about WEETU. “They helped me realise I could be agood mum and a good business woman – before I thought you couldn’t beboth” she said. Through WEETU Julie took out a loan for her first van (she’sgot a fleet of 3 now and 6 employees). To access the loan fund she had to joina ‘lending circle’ which is a mutual support group of up to 5 other womenstarting businesses. Julie had moved to Norfolk 2 years earlier and her Circlehas become both an invaluable business support group (with a great deal ofreferrals and inter-trading) and the source of her first real friends in the area.

During the WEETU training, Julie drafted a business plan, identifiedproduct suppliers over the internet and prepared marketing flyers targetingan affluent Norwich suburb. The phone hasn't stopped ringing since. Hercustomers approve the green approach and value realistic estimates andreliable work.

The customer base continues to grow as do her plans - franchising of boththe cleaning and the product sales arms of the business are ultimate goals. An essential part of Julie's kit is the non polluting agent employed to cleanseagull droppings from offshore oil rigs - robust stuff given that manyconsumers still consider green detergents to be ineffectual. Keen to extendthe market of green cleaning products available in the UK (she had to orderher initial stock from the USA) Julie is currently working with an industrialchemist to develop her own range based on olive, jojoba and citrus oils.

Contacts: Julie Bishop, Living Clean: 01603 492820WEETU: Caroline Forbes 01603 665555 c.forbes@weetu.org www.weetu.org

RashidaBhayat

SweetsuccessAS AN UNEMPLOYED fifty-something Asianwoman Rashida Bhayat didn’t know where tostart when her children left home. She knewshe was good at making ice cream and fromher first contact with the Coventry basedWomen’s Business Development Agency shehas been encouraged and supported to ‘gofor it’ every step of the way.

Rashida imports nine unusual flavours tocreate her specialist ‘kulfi’ Indian ice cream,which she produces from scratch in a speciallydesigned unit. Her product is bought andeaten by a wide range of customers, includinglocal restaurants and can also be bought intubs for weddings and parties as well as singletubs to keep in the freezer at home.

The Women’s Business DevelopmentAgency were able to provide intensivesupport to help Rashida overcome difficultieswith English and writing skills to develop awinning business plan and get the businessoff the ground: “It helped me with thebusiness plan and then with funding, I wasable to buy the vital machine I needed tobegin making the ice cream.” WBDA werealso able to ensure that Rashida receivedhelp from a network of appropriateagencies, including Business Link, theChamber of Commerce, the DTI and theLocal Authority. The BVMA mentoringprogramme helped with ongoing confidencebuilding and support.

Other business women are seen byRashida as one of the most importantelements of the support package: “I havebeen able to meet other women who havestarted up on their own and it is really usefulto be part of a network” she says.

Rashida has plans to get a bigger place tomake the ice cream to deal with theincreasing demand. She has purchased landopposite her home and will be building a unitto house more freezers as her home is fullup! She has employed a driver to support herwith the growing orders.

Contacts: Rashida Bhayat, Taj QualityProducts 0247 622 5902Sally Arkley, WBDA: 0247 6581958www.wbda.co.uk

WOMENFRIENDLYBUSINESSSUPPORT

IN ACTION

SPRING/SUMMER 2003

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From the PAT3 report on ‘Enterprise and SocialExclusion’ back in 1999 to the recent SBS policyframework ‘Small Business and Government: TheWay Forward’, the importance of encouraging morewomen into business is firmly embedded intogovernment policy and recognised as central to thedrive for economic growth and social justice.Developed by the SBS Ethnic Minority & Women’s

Enterprise Unit, in conjunction with a cross-government policy groupand Prowess, the Framework aims to enable a cohesive andcoordinated approach to women’s enterprise across the UK. Endorsedby the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Patricia Hewitt, it isparticularly aimed at business support providers and contains both thepolicy/research context and practical implementation guidelines.

Some credit should go to the international economic study, theGlobal Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). In 1999, the first GEM reportwas one of the first studies to look at the correlation betweeneconomic growth and women’s business ownership. The GEM UK

reports in 2001 and 2002 have expanded on this issueand, along with SBS research such as the HouseholdSurvey, have provided useful data for the development ofthe national strategy.

Also around 1999, Baroness Jay, the then Minister forWomen, encouraged the Women’s Unit in the CabinetOffice (now the Women and Equality Unit in the DTI) topromote women’s enterprise. Following a number ofhigh-profile events and seminars, the need for anindependent representative body for women’s enterprisesupport became apparent (resulting last year in Prowess).

EntrepreneurshipWith the formation of the DTI’s Small Business Service(SBS) in 2000, which had entrepreneurship for under-represented groups as one of its original objectives,responsibility for women’s enterprise passed from theWomen’s Unit to the SBS in 2001.

Further milestones have included the DTI’s PhoenixDevelopment Fund (see page 8) and the publication ofthe ‘Cross Cutting Review of Government Services forSmall Business” in 2002. This comprehensive reportprovided the clearest analysis to date of the issues around“extending enterprise” to under-represented groups.

Together with a number of research reports, increasedgender analysis of small business surveys and interest fromprivate sector players such as the banks, these combineddevelopments have led to unprecedented interest inwomen’s enterprise issues.

Devolution in Scotland, Wales and N Ireland hasmeant that separate strategies have evolved in thesecountries but the national Strategic Framework willprovide an opportunity to ensure that best practice - andrelevant policies – are shared and disseminated acrossborders.

Following the recent flurry of policy reports, thepriority now, as ever, has to be effective implementation.Perhaps the key difference in 2003 is that women’senterprise development is now firmly under-pinned bypolicy commitments, a strategic plan and a growingnetwork of appropriate agencies, networks and initiativeswhich are ready to deliver.

What are the key challenges for the future? Assumingthe effective implementation of the strategic prioritiesoutlined in the Framework, two particular issues standout: gender-disaggregated data collection and effectivemonitoring/evaluation. There will be others – but unlesswe make progress on these, policy-making in the futurewill prove difficult.

Copies of the Women’s Enterprise StrategicFramework are available from Julia Parris, EthnicMinority & Women’s Enterprise Unit: 020 7215 8543julia.parris@sbs.gsi.gov.uk or from Prowess:admin@prowess.org.uk.

If you would like advice or support inimplementing the Framework in your area pleasecontact Erika Watson at Prowess 01603 762355e.watson@prowess.org.uk

BackingbusinessWith the launch of the national Women’sEnterprise Strategic Framework in April 2003 itis clear that getting more women to start andgrow businesses is now a government priority.JACKIE BRIERTON reviews the policydevelopments that got us there.

Rashida Bhayat

Support for women business owners and theirenterprises in the United States, while frequentlyconsidered a role model for other nations, is arelatively recent phenomenon. Only over the pastdecade have several disparate elements of activitycoalesced into what some may call a movement, butwhat is, in reality, a loose confederation of publicand private sector efforts that have resulted in: 1)

much greater public awareness of the contributions and challenges ofwomen business owners and their enterprises; 2) significantly greaterpublic and private sector support for women’s enterprise development; 3)a proliferation of non-governmental organisations supporting women’senterprises, and 4) growth in the number, diversity and impact ofwomen’s business associations.

Planting the seedsWomen have started, owned and inherited businesses in the UnitedStates since the founding of the country, yet official recognition andsupport for women’s enterprise development has been in existence onlyfor the past 25 years. The groundswell may have been sparked by anumber of concurrent events: the women’s movement for equal rights inthe late 1960s and early 1970s; the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of1974, which forbade credit discrimination on the basis of gender; theformation of the National Association of Women Business Owners in1975; and the expansion of government business census programs toinclude an analysis of gender, which occurred first in the 1977 census.

The first Federal government program to assist women’s businessenterprises came as the direct result of lobbying from women businessowners. An interagency government task force was created, and aresearch study was conducted to review the status of women-ownedfirms in the U.S. The resulting report, “The Bottom Line: UnequalEnterprise in America,” documented some of the barriers that women

Statesof

ChangeWith over 40 per cent of its businessstart-ups owned by women, the US hasbeen put forward as the model for theUK to emulate. JULIE R. WEEKS,Executive Director of the NationalWomen’s Business Council in the US,outlines the American experience.

USA IN FOCUS

SPRING/SUMMER 2003

faced in starting and growing their businesses. Inresponse, President Jimmy Carter issued an executiveorder in 1979 establishing an Office of Women’sBusiness Ownership within the U.S. Small BusinessAdministration.

Shortly thereafter, a pilot loan program wasestablished, the office began working with Federalprocurement officials to get more women-ownedbusinesses involved in selling goods and services tothe government, and began reaching out to thewomen’s business community through speeches,conferences, and news releases.

Moving ForwardAlthough the establishment of a Federal office forwomen’s business enterprise was an important firststep, women business owners felt that more actionwas needed. As a result of their continued efforts,the U.S. Congress passed the Women’s BusinessOwnership Act of 1988, which gave the Office ofWomen’s Business Ownership programmaticresponsibilities – most notably the “Women’sDemonstration Project,” which has burgeoned intosupport for over 80 women’s business centresaround the country as of 2002

This landmark legislation also established theNational Women’s Business Council, a public policyadvisory body comprised of women business ownersand women’s business association representatives. Itsmission is to promote initiatives, policies andprograms designed to support women’s businessenterprises at all stages of development, and to serveas an independent source of advice and counsel tothe President, Congress, and the U.S. Small BusinessAdministration.

At this same time, a private sector organisationwas formed which has also played a critical role inwomen’s enterprise development in the U.S. TheNational Foundation for Women Business Owners –now known as the Center for Women’s BusinessResearch – has amassed an unparalleled body ofresearch-based knowledge about women businessowners and their enterprises. Through its efforts, theCenter has raised public awareness of importanttrends in women’s business ownership, highlightedthe challenges being faced, and provided facts andfigures for use in public education and advocacy.

The current state of women’s business ownershipin the United States is very strong. The number ofwomen-owned businesses continues to grow attwice the rate of all U.S. firms, and these firms areincreasing in economic clout. Between 1997 and2002, the number of women-owned firms grew by14%, the number of firms with employees grew by37%, the number of those employed in women-owned firms increased by 30%, and firm revenuesrose by 40%. There are now 6.2 million majority-owned, privately held women-owned firms in theU.S., accounting for 28% of all businesses,

employing 9.2 million workers and generating nearly$1.2 trillion in revenues. The number and growth offirms owned by women of colour is even stronger –twice the rate of all women-owned firms and fourtimes the rate of all US firms – and women areexpanding into non-traditional industries, such asconstruction, manufacturing, agribusiness, andtransportation.

Despite this impressive growth, we still know thatwomen in business continue to face challenges.Primary among them are: access to capital, access tomarkets, access to training and technical assistance,access to networks, and the need for legitimacy – tobe taken seriously as business owners, employers,and contributors to economic growth. Research hasshown these to be key challenges for womenbusiness owners around the world.

To address these challenges, the United States isblessed with a wide range of public and privatesector groups that are working to increase economicopportunities for women. There are a growingnumber of women’s business associations organisedby geography, industry, and level of achievement.Corporations have substantially increased theirefforts to market to and purchase from women-owned businesses. Foundations focused onentrepreneurship support are becoming more visibleand active. And there are many state and localgovernment initiatives in the area of women’sbusiness development in addition to the Federalefforts summarised here.

Ms. Weeks may be reached atjulie.weeks@sba.gov

Office of Women’s Business OwnershipThe Office of Women’s Business Ownership(OWBO) is part of the US Small BusinessAdministration. It was a pilot until justthree years ago; it now allocates $14 millionper annum to 100 women’s businesscentres. OWBO promotes the growth ofwomen-owned businesses throughprograms that address business training andtechnical assistance, and provide access tocredit and capital, federal contracts, andinternational trade opportunities. With awomen’s business ownership representativein every SBA district office, a nationwidenetwork of mentoring roundtables,women-owned venture capital companiesand the online Women’s Business Center,OWBO is helping unprecedented numbersof women start and build successfulbusinesses.

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PHOENIX FUND

The Phoenix Development Fund issupporting 15 initiatives in England aimedat getting women into business. It grewout of the Social Exclusion Unit's PAT 3report of 1999 which called for “a newperiod of innovation and experimentation,both in government policy and in the waythat banks, business support agencies and

others approach those markets”.Since its launch in 2001 the Development Fund has

distributed £29 million between 96 Projects. It's all aimed atstimulating enterprise among under-represented groups and indeprived communities: an area fairly neglected by governmentfunding until relatively recently. But the Development Fund isproving to be about more than money: innovation and creativityare also central to the way it manages projects. “The fund ismanaged in a simple and effective way, instead of bogging usdown with needless bureaucracy the Development Fund reportsactually help us reflect and think creatively about how we canimprove the project. It's not rocket science, but it's almostunheard of in the world of government funding!” is a typicalcomment from a Prowess member supported by the Fund.

Synergy, through sharing best practice and joint working, isa key aim of the Phoenix Fund and there have been severalopportunities for projects to get together. Eight of the projectstargeting women have joined together in the AcceleratingWomen’s Enterprise (AWE) partnership, using Phoenix Fundingto lever additional European funds to expand their projects andenable cross European learning with partners in Germany,Sweden, Greece, Italy, Belgium and Holland. Lisa Mc Mullan ofTrain 2000 said“the networking really began during theconsultation around the formation of the Phoenix Fund andsince then we have benefited hugely from being able to workin partnership with our new sister organisations around thecountry and identified lots of opportunities for joint working”.

Access to finance is being tackled by the Phoenix CDFI fund,which complements the Development Fund by supportingCommunity Development Finance institutions. The CDFI fundhas supported 48 projects to a total value (including guarantees)of just under £20 million. Four of the CDFI projects primarilytarget women, while many others target women as part ofbroader disadvantaged communities.

Both funds will be open for further bidding rounds in2003, for the years 2004-2006.

Their priorities include: • Building on the best of thecurrent projects • Filling geographic and sectoral gaps(including refugees) • Mainstreaming

For more information: Phoenix Development Fund – Maria Kenyon 0114 259 7453 Phoenix CDFI Fund – Mark Hambly 0114 259 7422

PhoenixRisingInnovative approaches are vital if we are tosucceed in significantly increasing the number ofwomen starting and growing businesses in theUK. The challenge is being met by the DTI’sPhoenix Development Fund.

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Women Focused Phoenix Projects

1. LONDONWomen’s Education in Building: to develop anew managed workspace facility to form a keyelement of a multi-faceted, integrated centreoffering multi-cultural business advice, guidance,mentoring and key skills/pre-vocational skills trainingalongside ICT and Built Environment skills training.

2. LONDONTower Hamlets Co-operative DevelopmentAssociation: to increase confidence, improvespoken and written English, provide marketableemployment skills, and support the establishmentof new worker co-operatives of Bangladeshiwomen who have never worked, and have nocommand of English.

3. DORSETEnterprise Connection: to provide a supportprogramme for women in rural Dorset who wish todevelop entrepreneurial activity through businessstart-up and micro-SME operations, especially whereICT is an important factor.

NATIONALThe Prince’s Trust: to increase the number ofbusiness start ups by disadvantaged young women

in England and recruit more women businessmentors to support these enterprises. The Yes YouCan project aims to support an additional 1000young women in to business.

4. MANCHESTERBolton Business Ventures: Ventures to establisha women’s enterprise centre of excellence – a newadvisory service aimed at tackling the under-representation of women in business. Advisors willbe women with extensive practical businessexperience who understand the nature of theprejudices and difficulties to overcome. The BBVloan fund completes the package and is supportedby the Phoenix CDFI fund.

5. STAFFORDSHIREBusiness Link Staffordshire: to offer advice towomen wishing to launch social enterprises indeprived areas and to make schoolchildren awareof and engaged in entrepreneurial activity in orderto change negative attitudes towards self-employment.

NATIONALKids Club Network: to develop local models ofhow the childcare business can be successful indisadvantaged areas and to provide the businesssupport materials and development tools tosupport individuals starting up in the childcarebusiness.

6. LONDON East End Microcredit Consortium: to givesocially excluded women access to finance andskills they need to start a business. The project willfund outreach and group development workers toundertake targeted outreach to community groupsas well as capacity building support through adevelopment programme for micro-credit members. The microcredit programme is also beingsupported to deliver to Bangladeshi women by thePhoenix CDFI fund.

7. SHROPSHIRE East Shropshire Regeneration Partnership:to carry out a feasibility study about the role ofmarket towns in enabling business start up in ruralareas, examining the barriers to business start up,particularly for women.

NATIONAL Prowess: Prowess is a new UK-wide tradeassociation and campaigning body workingtowards equal numbers of women and menstarting and growing businesses. Prowess supportsmember organisations - who work directly withbusinesses - to develop and improve their servicesfor women.

8. NORFOLKWEETU: to deliver best practice in the delivery anddevelopment of a range of services through aCentre of Excellence, focusing on training, accessto finance, networking, childcare provision for lowincome women starting and developing businessesin Norfolk and North Suffolk. Phoenix CDFI fundingis supporting the development of the Full CircleFund, which provides micro-loans through peersupport groups of women.

9. COVENTRYWomen’s Business Development Agency: todevelop a pilot for bridging the gap betweensocially excluded women entrepreneurs and theSBS, including implementation of local outreachprogrammes, development of a trainingprogramme and dissemination of results.

10. NORTH WESTWomen’s Business Network (NW): to maintainand create networks targeting women who arerunning their own business, share good practicebetween existing networks, develop new ones andhelp the networks to contribute to thedevelopment of regional, national and Europeanpolicies affecting women entrepreneurs.

11. LIVERPOOLTrain 2000: to develop and deliver a range ofcustomised integrated business, jobs, educationand training support measures targeted atwomen from disadvantaged areas through thePOWER programme. Special emphasis to beplaced on developing innovative learningprocesses using new media technologies. PhoenixCDFI funding is supporting the development ofthe POWER loan fund.

12. BIRMINGHAMBirmingham Chamber Training - ProfessionalReturners Enterprise PartnershipThey recruit complementary sets of professionallyqualified returners to work (typically post pregnancyor early years parenting), providing the optimumoffice, technology and management adviceenvironment, and enable each group to developand implement their own business plan. The teammembers are employees and part owners of thebusiness. The approach demonstrates thathierarchical notions of management are notinevitable; that businesses where decisions arebased on consultation, cooperation and respectcan be more successful than the traditional model.It shows that, in a fast changing world, the abilityof the people within a business to flex what theydo to suit the changing market is more importantthan a single business idea.

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At Prowess’s launch in October, TriciaWargent, Regional Manager forChwarae Teg in Mid Wales made apresentation that made delegates fromthroughout the UK sit up and listen. Sheoutlined a number of projects targetedat groups under-represented inenterprise, which are innovative in their

approach to integrated delivery and best practice throughmainstream business support agencies, and are part of a strategyaimed at bringing about a huge cultural shift towardsentrepreneurship in Wales.

“The Welsh economy is largely made up of small firms, many ofwhich employ less than 5 people. The relationship between thepublic sector and SME’s, and the various enterprise and businesssupport agencies is particularly important here. Rurality is a big issueand so too the transport challenges that it brings,” explains Ruth

CHWARAE TEG

Fairplayin

WalesChwarae Teg has just celebrated ten years of promoting the economicdevelopment of women in Wales.

Marks, Chief Executive of Chwarae Teg. “There aremany areas where women and families are living belowthe poverty line. Historically, Wales has been home toheavy industry and very traditional family and workingstructures, and this has presented significant challengesfor equality over the past 20 or 30 years.”

Working in partnership with the Welsh DevelopmentAgency, Chwarae Teg is helping to deliver theEntrepreneurship Action Plan for Wales developed fromthe National Assembly for Wales’s resolve that “asuccessful future for the Welsh economy depends on astrong culture of entrepreneurship.”

Chwarae Teg manages Women’s Enterprise Wales, aproject that provides targeted pre-business start-upsupport services to women, and also the Lone Parent’sVenture, which is part of Potentia, a similar projecttargeting six groups currently under-represented in self-employment in Wales, including ethnic minority groups,disabled people and Welsh language speakers. Bothprojects have the three core elements of research,mainstreaming and positive action.

The key to success“I want to emphasise that all three core elements are ofequal importance to the overall projects and theirsuccess,” says Tricia. “Although our main aim is to helpmore women and lone parents set up in business, weonly play one part in this process. Our focus is firmly onpre-business start up support so working in partnershipwith the mainstream business support services is key tothe success of both projects.”

Through Women’s Enterprise Wales Chwarae Teghas completed a comprehensive review of the availablegender disaggregated statistics and carried out a panWales questionnaire investigating the issues,motivations and support needs for women going intoself-employment. “The preliminary results indicate thatthe traditional mindset about business for directfinancial gain with growth ambitions does not apply to

women - and so the support approach, review ofideas and business advice may need to be genderspecific,” says Tricia Wargent.

Chwarae Teg also delivers an outreach servicewhich works in local communities raisingawareness of the opportunity of self-employment,

sowing the seeds of entrepreneurship,providing follow-on training and support ingroups or on a one to one basis.

Perhaps the most innovative andexciting aspect of these projects is the wayin which this research, and Potentia’s

research into the issues facing its targetgroups, is being used to make a difference to

the way mainstream business support isdelivered. Anyone who now contracts with theWelsh Development Agency has to undergo aminimum of five days diversity training.

Contact: www.chwaraeteg.com

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RESEARCH ROUND UP

Restricted Access:Women-ownedbusinesses in profileWhile this report provideswelcome evidence that thenumbers of women startingbusinesses in the UK areincreasing relative to their malecounterparts, this is underminedby indications that access tofinance continues to be a majorproblem, and that women’sbusiness development is beinghindered by poor engagementwith new technology.

Access to finance is a criticalissue and it appears that womenare less happy than men aboutthe availability and cost ofoverdraft or loan finance. Theyare less likely to use bankfinance and rely proportionatelymore on personal savings andhousehold income which, ofcourse, impacts on the size andgrowth prospects of theirbusinesses.

‘Restricted Access’ waspublished by Prowess, inconjunction with the Federationof Small Businesses (FSB), inOctober 2002. It was based on asurvey of more than 18,000 FSBmembers carried out earlier in2002, and included responsesfrom 1,750 women who are thesole owners of their business.The report is available from theonsite library in the press/researchand members' areas of Prowess’sweb-site: www.prowess.org.uk

To order a printed copy (atno charge for Prowessmembers, non-members £5.50inc p&p), call 01603 762355, oremail admin@prowess.org.uk.

Women and Credit‘Women and Credit:Researching the Past, Refiguringthe Future’ includes a review ofmicro enterprise and credit forwomen in Canada by MaryDoyle and explores some of thereasons why, historically, womenhave not had the same access tocredit as men. The developmentof the UK microcredit fund, ‘FullCircle’, is also charted by RuthPearson, who, along withBeverley Lemire and GailCampbell, edited the book.

Women and Credit isavailable from BergPublishing from £15.99. Seewww.bergpublishers.com orcall 01865 245104 for furtherinformation.

Self employment as a route off benefitThis report from theDepartment for Work andPensions (DWP) reviews thefindings from recent self-employment research, andprovides an analysis of theexperiences of benefit-leaversentering self-employmentthrough New Deal schemes.Key findings show that men aremore likely to enter self-employment from benefits thanwomen, and that entries intoself-employment from the NewDeals are highest in areas withlow levels of unemploymentand in rural areas.

The report is available freeby calling 020 7712 2171 or visit www.dwp.gov.uk/ads/index.htm

GEM UK 2002 & GEMScotland 2002The UK Global EntrepreneurshipMonitor (GEM) was launched inLondon in December 2002. Thereport monitors entrepreneurialactivity in the UK and, based ona survey of 20,000 adults, is oneof the largest single studies ofentrepreneurial activity in theworld. Part of a global exerciseinvolving 37 countries, the UKreport provides comparativeTotal Entrepreneurial Activity(TEA) rates by gender andethnicity. It shows that althoughthe gap between the male andfemale rates of entrepreneurshiphas narrowed slightly, the UKgap is still wider than averagebetween men and women in theglobal sample.

Copies of the GEM UK andGEM Global reports can bedownloaded from:www.gemconsortium.org.

For further information onthe Scottish report, go to:www.entrepreneur.strath.ac.uk

Countryside AgencyResearch NotesTwo new sets of notes are nowavailable: 'Self employment inrural England' reveals women asunder represented among theself-employed and overrepresented among the low-paid. 'The role and contributionof women to rural economies'considers the impact made bywomen through paid work andin their role as business owners,noting that though significant,the contribution is frequentlydisguised and unrecognised.Recommendations includesupporting rural women toestablish childcare facilities as aself-employment opportunityand developing a strategicresponse to the employment andtraining needs of rural women.

Research notes and fullreports are available now andcan be viewed at:www.countryside.gov.uk/publications

Drivers to Enterprise inDisadvantaged Areas100 business start-ups indisadvantaged areas of Leicesterwere interviewed for thisresearch report, conducted byLeicester City Council for theCentre for Enterprise.Recommendations include:mentoring programmes;accessible small bank loans; peerlending for discrete groups suchas women; targetedprogrammes for women (withchildcare support); more researchinto the benefits system and itsnegative impactors on businessstart-up.

Full report available from:www.centreforenterprise.co.uk

US study of newly launchedwomen-ownedbusinessesThe first round results of a multi-year study of women-ownedbusiness in America show theimportance of access to financeand training. The research isbeing conducted by the Centerfor Women’s Business Researchand will explore the factorsaffecting business successlongitudinally over a business’sstart-up phase.

The results of the first set ofinterviews show that overall thebiggest challenge is financing,with 57% of participants statingtheir top source of financing isprivate, ie savings or family. Onlyabout half of the participants feltthey had the business financingskills needed to acquire capital.

The study is being conductedin collaboration with fourwomen’s business centres fromthe 80 throughout the US thatprovide women with a range ofservices to start and grow theirbusinesses.

For the full report seewww.womensbusinessresearch.org/Research/5-21-2002/5-21-2002.htm

Prowess’s monthly e-zines highlightcurrent research which contribute to agrowing ‘virtual library’ of relevantreports available on the Prowesswebsite www.prowess.org.uk. This is a summary of some of the keypublications in the last 6 months.

PROWESS MEMBERS

About ProwessProwess (Promoting Women’s Enterprise Support) is a UK-wide trade association andcampaigning body working towards equal numbers of women and men starting andgrowing businesses.

Prowess supports member organisations - who work directly with businesses - todevelop and improve their services for women. We also keep them informed ofGovernment priorities and opportunities, lobby on their behalf and provide opportunitiesto get together and share best practice and learn about new approaches.If you would like to join Prowess, or find out more, please call us on 01603 762355 or lookat our website www.prowess.org.uk

Business Support ProvidersAction Acton, LondonAurora Gender Capital Management, LondonBolton Business VenturesBusiness Connect Heart of Wales, PowysBusiness in Prisons, DerbyshireBusiness Link Cheshire & WarringtonBusiness Link NorfolkBusiness Link NorthumberlandBusiness Link WessexBusiness Solutions Bedale Ltd, North YorkshireChwarae Teg, WalesCornwall Self Employment ProgrammeCo-active Ltd, DevonDarlington Business VentureEncouraging Rural Entrepreneurs,DurhamEnterprise Direct, KentEnterprise in Food, NottinghamshireEnterprising Communities, HertfordshireMerseyside ACMEMid Cornwall Enterprise Trust Ltd, CornwallPerthshire Business Women’s NetworkQuaker Social Action/Streetcred, LondonRural Women's Network, CumbriaSCEDU, SheffieldThe Prince’s Trust, England & WalesScottish Enterprise NetworkTime for Child Care, GloucesterTrain2000 Ltd, MerseysideWEETU, Norfolk

Women in Business, MerseysideWomen’s Electronic Village Hall, ManchesterWomen in Rural Enterprise, ShropshireWomen Into the Network, N.E. EnglandWomen Returners’ Network, EssexWomen’s Business Development Agency, CoventryWomen’s Business Network, N.W. EnglandWomen’s Education in Building Group, LondonWomen’s Enterprise Centre, Milton Keynes

AffiliateBusiness Enterprise Centre, LondonBusiness Link CambridgeshireCERT, LincolnshireCommunity Links, LondonHalliwell LandauInnovations Factory, Liverpool Community Development Finance AssociationManor & Castle Development Trust, Sheffield New Economics Foundation, LondonSmall Business ServiceNorth Derbyshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry

CorporateBarclays Bank PlcThe Royal Bank of Scotland Group

ProwessEventsWomen’s EnterpriseAwareness Seminars

10am - 2pm Sheffield 18thMarch, London 21st March withadditional dates to be plannedthroughout the year at variouslocations in the UK.

Find out more about theissues and best practice inwomen’s enterprise support.Organisations dealing regularlywith women-owned businesses,or the issues they face, will findthese sessions invaluable fordeveloping the knowledge andunderstanding of staff andstrategic partners. Each eventwill also include a shortpresentation with Q&As frombest practice organisations: Train2000 of Merseyside at theSheffield event; WEETU ofNorwich at the London event.There will also be anopportunity to find out moreabout the National Women’sEnterprise Strategic Frameworkand to network and shareexperiences with otherdelegates.

Prowess members areentitled to one free place.Additional places are availableat £50 (including lunch).

For more informationcontact: Ann Nicholls on 01603762355a.nicholls@prowess.org.uk

Provisional Date for your diaryProwess Annual ConferenceOctober 30th - 31st 2003 Venue tba

Prowess is supported by:

Phoenix Development Fund

Published by: Prowess, Lion House, 20-28 Muspole Street, Norwich NR3 1DJ Tel: (01603) 762355 Fax: (01603) 227090 Email: admin@prowess.org.uk Web: www.prowess.org.uk