Over 300 delegates including business owners, entrepreneurs and start–ups gathered on Tuesday at the All–Island Female Entrepreneurs Conference presented by Women in Business which interactively linked audiences across Titanic Belfast and Dublin’s Gibson Hotel.
Award–winning food writer and businesswoman Ella Mills (‘Deliciously Ella’) joined a host of inspirational keynote speakers including Sonya Lennon (Work Equal), Ailbhe Keane (Izzy Wheels), and Jennifer Neff and Leeann Monk–Ozgul (Elemental), who each shared their experiences and knowledge to empower and encourage the all–island audience to accelerate their own business.
For the fifth year, the conference which is sponsored by InterTradeIreland and the Yes You Can female enterprise support programme, featured the six winners of the Yes You Can £20,000 pitching competition who each pitched live in Belfast for additional funding support. Susanna Hassard from County Antrim scooped the top prize with her business One Small Seed Flower Farm, as voted by the audience, and walked away with an impressive £5,000 to support the development of her business.
Lorraine Acheson, Managing Director of Women in Business, said:
“It’s a real privilege for Women in Business to bring together an island–wide audience of entrepreneurial women, helping to seed future female flagships across Ireland and the UK. In Northern Ireland alone, female start–ups have the potential to added over £7 billion to the local economy.“By signposting opportunities and support structures we can unlock new opportunities for female enterprise on an all–island scale, enabling women from all four corners of the island to write the next chapter in their business story with courage and conviction. I am delighted that Women in Business is celebrating entrepreneurial role models and leading in the discussion on the opportunities and challenges that female entrepreneurs face when scaling their businesses.”
The all–island conference was hosted by Sarah Travers in Belfast and Norah Casey in Dublin. Along with InterTradeIreland, associate sponsors of this year’s event included Enterprise Ireland, Glandore, Innovate UK, IQ&Co and the British Business Bank.
In congratulating the six Yes You Can finalists, Lorraine added:
“I would like to congratulate our six Yes You Can finalists who demonstrated not only their ingenuity but their courage and determination to pitch live to our Belfast audience. A special shout out must go to our overall winner, Susanna Hassard, whose business looks at floristry through a sustainable lens. I am excited to see all our finalists flourish in the years to come and wish them all the best with their future business endeavours.”
For further information on Women in Business and the Yes You Can programme visit the website.
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