Funded courses with the School for Social Entrepreneurs are available to help women start impactful businesses in Wiltshire.
Apply for ‘Accelerating Women’s Enterprise’ by 5 November.
Women of Wiltshire are being offered funded business learning and support to start enterprises that benefit the environment or their community. Informal ‘Sofa Sessions’ start online on 15 November, introducing ways women can work for themselves, or start a sustainable business that could increase their income.
The programme offers fully funded learning with no cost to the participants and no formal qualifications are needed to apply. Learning sessions are designed to be practical, fun, and engaging.
Those taking part will join other female entrepreneurs in their area for five online learning sessions with the potential to progress to face-to-face ‘Nuts & Bolts’ workshops covering practical skills such as finding funding, marketing yourself, and how your work can make change — all developed specifically for women.
Social enterprises aim to make a positive impact on society or the environment, in addition to generating valuable income. Their profits are reinvested back into the business or community. The Accelerating Women’s Enterprise programme aims to help women increase their knowledge and personal skills to start and grow successful businesses. This targeted support can help redress the current gender imbalance in start-ups and strengthen communities.
Applications for Sofa Sessions and Nuts & Bolts will be welcome from women at any stage from an initial idea to early-stage trading.
Find details and apply by 5th November 2022 on the SSE website.
There are priority places for people who are facing barriers in life such as disabilities, come from low-income backgrounds or racialised and minoritised communities – and for people and organisations supporting these groups.
In Wiltshire, SSE is working in association with The Enterprise Network, a Wiltshire Council initiative established in 2012, that have part-funded AWE in the county. YTKO are leading the Accelerating Women’s Enterprise (AWE) programme in Hampshire and across the South West, funded by the Interreg France (Channel) England Programme.
The AWE programme has supported over 700 women living on both sides of the English Channel to create businesses of their own over the last 3 years. The programme increases the sustainability of early-stage, women-owned social businesses. Many of the participants have faced economic, social, and environmental challenges before joining the courses.
Dirk Rohwedder, Associate Director, School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE), says:
This is such a popular programme in the South West, we’re delighted to extend it to women entrepreneurs in Wiltshire. We’ll help them develop ideas, products and services that address social and environmental challenges. This kind of enterprise benefits local communities and society in the long term and will provide a livelihood for the entrepreneurs.
Working with The Enterprise Network and their fantastic local contacts will enable this support to reach people with great potential who really need it.
Previous AWE participants include Sarah Nuttall-Worsley, who has set up Invigorate Nutrition Club, offering funded wellness evaluations, goal setting and personalised nutrition.
Emily, who was helped by AWE to launch Emily Cockle Consultancy Ltd, says:
The funded mentoring and training support was key to me as a new start-up. I thought it beneficial to begin building contacts with other women, who although not within the same industry as me, are facing similar challenges and dilemmas.
Mirella Ferraz attended an SSE ‘Trade Up’ (Accelerator) course in the South West:
If you have an idea that you truly believe in, then start your project no matter how many question marks you might have around it. Figuring things out is an ongoing journey, and the sense of being ‘ready’ will never happen. Take a leap and just go for it!
We weren’t so focused before I started the programme, so it’s really helped us refine and improve our offering.
SSE fellow, Mirella Ferraz, founder of Share Shed – the world’s first mobile library of things.
