Prowess Conference 2009
The Prowess Conference ‘Risk and Reward’ took place on the 4th – 5th March 2009 in Blackpool.
The Women’s Enterprise Task Force (WETF) had a strong representation at this event. Julie Kapsalis, Director of Business Support and Enterprise at the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) spoke on behalf of the Task Force co-chairs at the Conference reception with an update on Task Force activities and the Aspire Fund. Julie highlighted the strategic achievements of the WETF to date under its 5 key pillars.
The position of women in the current economic climate was also emphasised along with the WETF close working relationship with Prowess and BERR.
This year’s conference focused on women entrepreneurs in the recession.
UK’s women entrepreneurs can lead us out of recession
Prowess used its International Conference to rally the business support network for urgent action to ensure women business owners can lead the way out of the recession. Top of the list from Conference was a call on the Government to remove the blockage which is being caused by the banks preventing renewals of and extensions to overdrafts and loans. Prowess members report this as desperate. A second priority is for the government to design programmes of support, such as that given to the car industry, to better reflect the female dimensions of the recession. Thirdly, Prowess will be looking to forge closer ties with its partners in the States including keynote speaker Ann Marie Almeida, President and CEO of the Association of Women's Business Centers. Click here for the full press release.