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New scheme to ‘Make it Real’ for east London female entrepreneurs

Monday 7 January 2013

Make it Real

UEL has secured funding to the tune of £50,000, which will help 15 budding female entrepreneurs in east London become the business women of tomorrow.

Open to women aged 18 years and over in Barking and Dagenham, Greenwich, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest, and funded byRBS Inspiring Women in Enterprise, the Make It Real project will provide funding, mentoring support and office space to those who have serious ambitions of setting up their own business.

Following a successful bid by UEL’s Centre of Excellence for Women’s Entrepreneurship (CEWE) to RBS Group, 15 aspiring entrepreneurs will each receive a cash injection of £2,000, a designated mentor to support them in their efforts to set up a business, three months office space at UEL’s Knowledge Dock Business Centre, and six expert workshops covering the ‘nuts and bolts’ of starting up.

At the end of the programme, each budding entrepreneur will have a professional business plan in place, as well as an established social media presence and marketing strategy, to help them when they go out into the world of business.

Linsey Cole, Head of Business Partnerships at UEL, said: “As a university, we have made tremendous inroads over the last two years in establishing UEL as a first port of call for women who want to find out the basics of setting up a business.

“Through this scheme, we will support women who have the seed of a business idea, but are not sure about how they can take it to the next level. Whether it’s a 23-year -old in Hackney who wants to develop her popup shop concept or a 50 year old mother from Newham who has plans to set up her own PR company, this scheme will give east London’s women that much needed injection of start up cash, specialist advice and get them moving in the right circles – often the most crucial factor in getting any business venture off the ground.”

Thom Kenrick from RBS Group said: “We want to encourage more women to start up in business. RBS Inspiring Women in Enterprise is part of RBS Inspiring Enterprise. It seeks to inspire and enable 20,000 women to unlock their enterprise potential over the next three years. 

“We are delighted that the University of East London has been successful and received a grant to undertake a programme that will help women to start up and succeed in business, and help us achieve this goal.”

RBS Inspiring Women in Enterprise has been designed to encourage more women to explore enterprise, build their skills, start up and succeed in business. The Group is making £500k of grants available every year for the next three years, which will go to organisations who support women to unlock their enterprise potential. These activities may include enterprise education, skills development, networking or funding on a not for profit basis.

The Make It Real project will open for applications in February 2013 and run until October 2013. For further information about how to apply, contact Danielle Sheerin on 020 8223 2231 or cewe@uel.ac.uk

Notes to Editors

The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.

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