Women’s policy centre to get £540k
A new think tank which promotes female entrepreneurs in the UK will receive £540,000 kick-start funding from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), which will last until March 2009. The Prowess National Policy Centre (PNPC) will be co-located in Birmingham and London and managed by Prowess. It will act as a ‘one-stop’ shop for the latest in women’s enterprise-related research and policy.
The PNPC 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), financial institutions and multi-national corporations.
Support for the centre follows on from a commitment made by the government in its enterprise strategy in March 2008, to further promote and support the development of women’s enterprise. The minister for competitiveness and small business, Shriti Vadera, said, “There are 20 percent more people in enterprise in the US 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 we were to match US levels of women's enterprise there would be 900,000 new businesses in the UK.
“There is a wealth of untapped talent and economic opportunity that could significantly boost the economy in these uncertain times. The Prowess National Policy Centre marks the government's strong commitment to support women in business.”
The financial secretary to the treasury, Rt Hon Stephen Timms MP, said, “Boosting women's enterprise will be a major plus for the economy - that's why we are increasing Government support. The establishment of the Prowess National Policy Centre is a milestone in the development of women's enterprise, providing a focal point for research and a centre of expertise in policy.”
The PNPC is receiving £540,000 of funding from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (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 PNPC will need to become self-funding.
Prowess 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. They achieve this by raising awareness, providing capacity-building support to organisations which provide enterprise support services and by lobbying and advocacy at national, regional, European and local levels.
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14 NOV 2008 |
