S
P
03
12
LEICES
TER
MER
CUR
Y
TUESD
AY
,
JUNE
24
,
2008
WO
MEN
IN
BUSINES
S
AC
TION
PL
AN:
AG
ENC
Y
WA
NT
S
TO
ENC
OUR
AG
E
MORE
WO
MEN
ENTREPRENEURS
The
East
Midlands
De
ve
lopment
Ag
ency
(emda)
is
wo
rking
to
incr
ease
female
entr
epr
eneurship
in
the
re
g
i
o
n
.
Wo
men
comprise
52
per
cent
of
the
popula
tion
and
46
per
cent
of
the
wo
rk
fo
rc
e
and
ye
t
they
onl
y
mak
e
up
ar
ound
30
per
cent
of
the
self-emplo
ye
d
community
in
the
East
Midlands
.
emda8217
s
Wo
men
8217s
Enter
prise
2020
Action
Plan
was
launc
hed
in
2005
to
boost
wo
men
8217s
enter
-
prise
in
the
East
Midlands
.
It
identified
fo
ur
priorities:
9632
Boost
the
nu
mber
of
wo
men
star
ting
sustaina
bl
e
bu
sinesses
9632
Suppor
t
wo
men
to
gr
ow
their
bu
siness
on
their
ter
ms
9632
Cr
ea
te
an
inc
lusi
ve
cultur
eo
f
enter
prise
fo
r
wo
men
9632
De
ve
lop
the
kno
wledg
e
base
on
wo
men
8217s
enter
prise
in
the
East
Midlands
.
emda
has
under
tak
en
an
um
-
ber
of
initia
ti
ve
st
o
de
ve
lop
this
action
plan
and
suppor
t
the
re
-
g
i
o
n8217
s
female
entr
ep
re
neurs
.
Th
ese
inc
lude:
9632
Th
eR
eg
ional
Wo
men
8217s
Enter
-
prise
Unit
(R
WEU)
pilot
wh
ic
h
has
trialled
outr
eac
h
ev
ents
to
wo
men
in
disad
va
nta
ge
d
com
-
munities
to
encoura
ge
them
to
tak
e-up
emda8217
s
Business
Link
Star
t-Up
service
.
9632
East
Midlands
Dir
ectory
of
Business
Suppor
t
fo
rW
omen.
emda
has
pr
oduced
a
dir
ectory
of
Business
Suppor
tf
or
Wo
men
and
has
distrib
uted
mor
et
han
30,000
copies
acr
oss
the
re
gion.
9632
Esta
bl
ishing
the
re
gional
Wo
-
m
e
n8217
s
Ambassadors
netw
or
k.
emda
has
esta
bl
ished
an
etw
or
k
of
mor
et
han
140
Ambassadors
wh
o
ar
ew
or
king
to
inspir
e
wo
-
men
to
star
t
and
gr
ow
bu
sinesses
.
To
celebra
te
the
ac
hie
ve
ments
of
female
entr
ep
re
neurs
in
the
East
Midlands
,
emda
also
held
the
Wo
men
of
Wo
rt
h
Aw
ar
ds
in
2008.
Th
is
ev
ent
re
co
gnised
the
wo
rk
of
entr
ep
re
neurial
and
in
-
spira
tional
wo
men
fr
om
acr
oss
the
East
Midlands
.
MAIN
AWA
RD
Th
er
e
we
re
thr
ee
aw
ar
d
ca
t-
eg
ories:
Yo
ung
Business
of
the
Ye
ar;
Most
Inno
vat
iv
e
Business
and
the
main
aw
ar
d
8211B
usiness
Wo
man
of
the
Ye
ar
.
Th
ew
inner
of
the
main
aw
ar
d
8211B
usiness
Wo
man
of
the
Ye
ar
8211
was
Rac
hael
Chambers
of
the
Fe
rr
ers
Gallery
in
Ashb
y-de-la-
Zouc
h
and
Fg2
in
Quor
n,
L
e
i
c
e
s
t
e
r
s
h
i
re
.
R
a
ch
a
e
l
8217s
ga
lleries
pr
omote
the
wo
rk
of
re
gional
ar
tists
and
in
addition
she
pr
ov
ides
mar
-
ke
ting
and
bu
siness
training
fo
r
companies
in
the
sector
and
is
also
an
editor
of
Craft
and
Design
Ma
ga
zine
.
Th
e
other
winners
inc
luded:
9632
Lian
Britc
hf
or
d,
Mana
ging
Dir
ector
of
Encompass
Print
Solutions
in
Ilk
eston,
wh
o
re
-
cei
ve
d
the
Yo
ung
Business
of
the
Ye
ar
aw
ar
d
9632
Debra
Char
les
,
Mana
ging
Dir
ector
of
No
va
cr
oft
in
Nor
thampton,
wh
o
wo
nt
he
most
Inno
vat
iv
eB
usiness
ca
t-
e
gory
9632
Gail
Liley
fr
om
the
Durham
Ox
in
Nottinghamshir
e,
wh
o
was
re
co
gnised
fo
r
being
an
out
-
standing
inspira
tion
to
others
.
Laura-J
ane
Fr
anklin,
emda8217
s
Business
Suppor
t
Di
ve
rsity
Mana
ge
re
xplains
wh
yi
t
is
so
impor
tant
to
suppor
tw
omen
in
bu
siness:
8220T
her
ea
re
lots
of
ve
ry
successful
wo
men
in
bu
siness
and
social
enter
prises
acr
oss
the
East
Midlands
wh
oa
re
mak
-
ing
a
significant
contrib
ution
to
the
re
gional
econom
y
in
ter
ms
of
both
job
and
we
alth
cr
ea
tion.
8220emda
re
co
gnises
the
enor
m-
ous
ro
le
tha
t
our
female
entr
e-
pr
eneurs
pla
y
in
the
re
gional
econom
y
and
we
will
contin
ue
to
pr
ov
ide
them
with
the
help
and
suppor
t
tha
tt
hey
need
to
de
ve
lop
and
gr
ow
their
bu
si
-
n
e
s
s
e
s.
8221
Business
Link
can
pr
ov
ide
yo
u
with
ad
vice
and
suppor
t
to
de
-
ve
lop
yo
ur
bu
siness
,
wh
ether
yo
u
ar
et
hinking
of
star
ting
up
a
ne
w
ve
ntur
e,
or
ar
e
alr
ead
y
an
esta
bl
ished
bu
siness
wo
man.
To
find
out
ab
out
the
rang
eo
f
bu
siness
suppor
t
tha
ti
sa
va
il
-
abl
e,
tele
phone
0845
058
6644
or
visit
Business
Link
at
:
w
w
w.
b
u
s
i
n
e
s
s
l
i
n
k
.
g
o
v.
u
k
/
e
a
s
t
m
i
d
l
a
n
d
s
emda
8211s
uppor
ting
and
celebr
ating
our
enterprising
wo
men
in
busines
s
BUSINES
S
WO
MAN
OF
THE
YEAR:
Ra
chael
Chamber
s
of
the
Fe
rr
er
s
Fa
ller
y
in
Ashb
y
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