Northwest Women's Enterprise Forum
The Northwest Women's Enterprise Forum Group was
established by the NWDA to increase the number of women
starting up and growing their own businesses in the
region. The Forum aims to create an environment in
which women have the skills, confidence, support and
opportunities to make an equal contribution to economic prosperity
by:
- Providing a collaborative, long-term approach to women’s
enterprise
- Creating an environment that encourages women into
business
- Supporting the development of partnerships in the region
- Sharing good practice
- Undertaking mapping and research of the provision of women’s
business support providers
The Forum's prospectus sets out the group's aims and
objectives along with information on the current Women's Enterprise
agenda and is available to download here.
Northwest Women's Enterprise Forum Prospectus - June
2008
Current key actions for the Forum include:
- Working with partners to influence regional and national
women’s enterprise policy
- Generating additional access to finance for women
entrepreneurs
- Working towards removing barriers for women who are carers
- Facilitate the roll-out of a quality framework for business
support to get more women into business
The Northwest Women's Enterprise Action Plan was released in
September 2008 and sets out the direction of the Forum over the
next 3 years. It supports the initiatives set out in the
Government's recent Enterprise Strategy and the Northwest
Enterprise Strategy launched in June 2008. The Northwest Women's
Enterprise Action Plan will help local and regional partners to
work together to encourage those women to take the first steps
towards business ownership, and provide assistance to women already
running enterprises and who have the capacity and desire for their
businesses to grow and expand, sharing their knowledge and
experience along the way.
The Northwest Women's Enterprise Action Plan and the Executive
Summary are both available to download below.
Northwest
Women's Enterprise Action Plan
Northwest Women's Enterprise Action Plan Executive
Summary
Forum Members and Stakeholders
Chair Sylvia Philips - Bolton Business Ventures
Vice Chair Elaine Owen - Designated Associates
Peter Watson / Donna Edwards - Business Link Northwest
Tina Egan - Northwest Universities Association
Anne Gornall - Learning and Skills Council
Anne Draper - Women in Rural Enterprises
Wendy Bowers - Hilton Bowers Associates
Jo Hartley - Vision Creative and Communications Consultants
Dawn Gibbins MBE
Esther McVey - Making It UK Ltd
Claire Dove - Blackburne House/ Chair of the Social Enterprise
Coalition
Yvonne Sampson - NWDA
Contact: Jo Cocker, Women’s Enterprise
Development Manager at jo.cocker@nwda.co.uk