New investment has been announced for women entrepreneurs in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire to help start or grow their businesses by improving digital skills.
Funding from the Government Equalities Office has been awarded to Fastershire as the partnership between Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to deliver faster broadband to rural areas in the two counties. As one of 16 successful bids to the ‘Women and Broadband’ fund, unhealthy the investment will help women make the most of using digital technology and the internet in business.
The ‘Faster Women’ project will offer free workshops and training on topics such as using social media in business, recipe cloud computing and selling online, as well as one-to-one business advice sessions, and funding to attend conferences or to access other types of business support.
The funding was awarded on the back of a successful project last year that worked with over 270 women providing training and advice on using the internet and IT.
Cllr Mark Hawthorne, leader of Gloucestershire County Council said, “This successful funding bid means we’ll be able to support more Gloucestershire women to grow their businesses and to start up new ones. The project will offer practical help to develop business online and make the most of the benefits brought by the internet and digital technology.”
Cynthia Crawshaw, who leads the Gloucestershire Women in Rural Enterprise Network, said, “I’m delighted to hear that thanks to this funding the Faster Women training and support can continue. The workshops are a great way to help give women the confidence to really get started setting up a new business, or to take the next steps to grow an existing one, by making the most of all the benefits the internet can bring. They are also an excellent opportunity to meet likeminded women, giving us a chance to share ideas and offer support following the training.”
The funding follows findings from the Women’s Business Council showing that there could be an extra one million female entrepreneurs in the UK if women had the confidence and support to start businesses at the same rate as men. Women and Broadband Fund from the Government Equalities Office invited broadband projects, such as Fastershire, to bid for funding to run projects to help women take full advantage of all the opportunities that superfast broadband can bring to business.
Training and support will be available from September, with details on www.fastershire.com/fasterwomen in due course. In the meantime people can register their interest through the website and they will be notified when details are confirmed.