Local Women To Get Help Setting Up In Business

Mary Macleod is to help women find their untapped potential

Local MP Mary Macleod is to set up a local project to encourage women to set up their own businesses.

Her new scheme, ‘Entrepreneurial Women -Taking the Start-Up Challenge ’is aimed at helping women find their untapped potential. The MP for Brentford and Isleworth recently spoke in Parliament about the contribution that women make to the UK economy.

Noting that women have an important role to play in helping to achieve economic growth in the UK, Mary outlined a number of government policies to facilitate this. These ranged from flexible leave for parents to the provision of 5,000 female business mentors.

Mary said: “In the UK, 150,000 more start-ups would be created every year if women were to start businesses at the same rate as men do. If women here in the UK were to set up businesses at the same rate as women in the US, there would be approximately 600,000 more businesses, contributing about £42 billion extra to the economy”.

“By encouraging enterprise education in schools and universities, many more young people, especially young women, may consider the option of starting up a business.

The Start-Up Challenge will invite women in the Hounslow area to meet with successful female entrepreneurs, other like-minded individuals and find out more about the support available.

More information on the scheme will shortly be available on Mary's website. The project is hosted by Barclays and will include the local Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Small Businesses, and Start-Up.

May 30, 2012