Policy Centre seeks to back women entrepreneurs

5 November 2008

A new policy centre, which is receiving over £500,000 of funding from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), is the first of its kind in Europe.

The Women's Prowess National Policy Centre (PNPC) will act as a one-stop shop for the latest in women's enterprise-related research and policy.

The Centre aims to drive up the number of female entrepreneurs in the UK by promoting best practice and raising awareness and understanding of women's entrepreneurship across Government, the regional development agencies (RDAs) and financial institutions.

Minister for Competitiveness and Small Business, Shriti Vadera, said: "There are 20% more people in enterprise in the United States than in Britain, and the majority of that gap is made up of women. Getting more women entrepreneurs is an economic issue, not just an equality issue."

If the UK could match US levels of women's enterprise it would see 900,000 new businesses.

The Centre will be co-located in Birmingham and London and is managed by Prowess.

This is a UK-wide advocacy network that supports the growth of women's business ownership through the development of an effective women-friendly business support infrastructure and enterprise culture.

The PNPC is receiving £540,000 of funding from the BERR to March 2009. No decision has yet been taken on whether further funding will be provided for the period 2009/10 and beyond.

Ultimately, the Centre will need to become self-funding.