16 February 2010
Northwest business support organisations receive new
international quality standard
Eight business support organisations across the Northwest have
been awarded a new quality standard for women’s enterprise.
The Women’s Business Centre (WBC) Standard, funded by the
Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and developed by
Prowess, the independent voice of women’s enterprise in the UK, has
been developed as a framework for providing world-class support
services to budding and established female entrepreneurs.
Organisations which have achieved the WBC Standard have been
officially recognised as putting women’s business support
requirements at the forefront of their service. They understand and
embed the needs and aspirations of their women clients into the
very fabric of their organisation; focusing on establishing and
maintaining a long-term relationship with their client and
providing support through the whole lifecycle of their business
journey.
Awarded at the Northwest Women in Business Awards 2010 on the
29th January at Ribby Hall, Lancashire, the first 8 organisations
across the Northwest to achieve the WBC Standard are:
Lancashire:
• Bolton Business Ventures
• Enterprise4All
• Hyndburn Enterprise Trust
Liverpool:
• Blackburne House
• Blue Orchid
Cumbria:
• Furness Enterprise
• University of Cumbria
Greater Manchester
• Rochdale Borough Women’s Enterprise Network
Steven Broomhead, Chief Executive of the NWDA, said:
“Women are currently significantly under-represented in business
in the Northwest and the UK and it is vital that we work to address
this imbalance – it has been estimated that if women started
businesses at the same rate as men, the UK would see 150,000 more
businesses per annum.
It is therefore vital that the right business support, advice
and guidance are available to ensure female entrepreneurs can
achieve their potential. The WBC standard is a clear symbol of the
quality of female-targeted business support offered by
organisations in the Northwest, which we hope will create a step
change in the number of women accessing support and ultimately
starting up their own businesses.”
Elaine Owen, Chair of the Northwest Women’s Enterprise Forum,
said:
“We were very proud to announce the first 8 organisations to
receive the Women’s Business Centre Standard (WBC). This pilot is a
great example of the positive change happening in Women’s
Enterprise and how mainstream business support can put women’s
requirements at the forefront of their thinking. As the first
and only international standard for women’s enterprise support, we
also hope it will help to bring women entrepreneurs all over the
world together, to learn from each other, share knowledge and
promote their businesses.”
For further information about the WBC standard visit www.wbcinternational.org
-ends-
Notes to editors:
A number of workshops will take place during March to raise
awareness of the Women’s Business Centre Quality Standard across
the region:
Thursday 18 March: Village Hotel, Warrington
Friday 19 March: Blackburne House, Liverpool
Monday 22 March: Palace Hotel, Manchester
Tuesday 23 March: Roundthorn Hotel, Penrith
Wednesday 24 March: University of Central Lancashire, Preston
For further details visit www.nwda.co.uk
For further information please contact Sarah Moston, Press
Officer on 01925 400552 or 07810 528 471 or Sarah.Moston@nwda.co.uk
For further information and to view all press releases visit us
at www.nwda.co.uk/press
The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) leads the
economic development and regeneration of England's Northwest and is
responsible for:
• Supporting business growth and encouraging
investment
• Matching skills provision to employer needs
• Creating the conditions for economic growth
• Connecting the region through effective transport and
communication infrastructure
• Promoting the region’s outstanding quality of life