Female entrepreneurship
Entrecom4All Joint Staff Event Inova Consultancy
May 2019, Budapest
About Inova Consultancy
• Inova is a friendly and
multicultural consultancy organisation that provides support in the area of
entrepreneurship, career and soft-skill development as well as change management for individuals and businesses.
About Inova Consultancy
• A unique focus on diversity, equal opportunities, positive psychology and mentoring, makes Inova an
expert in supporting those who are under-represented or who face
particular challenges in fulfilling their potential in a professional or entrepreneurial setting.
FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS
& WOMEN IN NON-TRADITIONAL
FIELDS (STEM)
NEET
YOUNG PEOPLE 50+ PEOPLE
FEMALE VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE, TRAFFICKING, HOMELESSNESS OR
ABUSE
About Inova Consultancy
• Based in Sheffield, UK, Inova has supported the development of the
region by empowering entrepreneurs and
businesses since 2001.
+15
YEARS OF EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH
EUROPEAN PROJECTS
72
PROJECTS DELIVERED
+5000
PEOPLE IN THE UK HAVE BENEFITED FROM OUR WORK
EU-28 population
48 52
women men
Female
Entrepreneurs in EU-28
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
self-employed start-up enrepreneur
65.6 70
34.4 30
men women
Employers versus
Solopreneurs (2012)
• 23% employer and 77%
solopreneurs Women
• 30% employer and 70%
solopreneurs
Men
Migrant entrepreneurs in the UK
Source: Migrant Entrepreneurs: Building our business creating our jobs, a report by Centre for Entrepreneurs and Duedil.
Major challenges for
women
• economic (e.g. financial credibility and knowledge)
• contextual (e.g. traditional
norms/expectations of women)
• soft skill issues (e.g. lack of role models or entrepreneurial knowledge)
Additional challenges
• UK based research shows:
• higher fear of failure (39.2% in comparison with men 32.6%) and
• uncertainty in their skills to start a business (only 39.8% feel confident in their abilities in comparison to 58.6% men)
Initiatives
• Women feel more confident with women
The choice of targeted female focussed business support is important to women. The National Council of Graduate Enterprise (NGCE) reports that 98% of women chose to participate in their Women’s Flying Start Programme because it was women only. When this women only option was introduced, the number of women accessing the programme increased by 800%
Potential
Interventions
Mentoring Circles™
EU funded projects – e.g., Kaleidoscope
Business incubators
Mentoring Circles™
• Methodology developed by Inova Consultancy (UK) in 2001
• Delivered in more than a dozen European countries
• Developed by Occupational Psychologists, Coaches, Human Resources Experts, Organisational
Development Consultants & Female Entrepreneurs
20
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4ym4ahIuiA&t=18s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ot0FTwWrGT4
What are Circles?
❖ Circles have 4 – 5 participants with facilitator
❖2 – 4 sessions of 3 – 4 hours
❖ Coaching through positive psychology
❖ Self-reflection exercises and experience sharing
❖ Gain self-awareness and self-efficacy
❖ Action points for next session
Methodology
• Improved self-efficacy:
“Self-efficacy is the measure of the belief in one's own ability to complete tasks and reach goals
“Self-efficacy affects every area of human endeavour. By determining the beliefs a person holds regarding his or her power to affect situations, it strongly influences both the power a person actually has to face challenges competently and the choices a person is most likely to make. These effects are particularly apparent, and compelling, with regard to behaviours affecting health”. Bandura
Soft skills chart
Challenges
Procrasti- nation
Loneliness
Sounding board Self-
confidence Learning
26
Methodology
Coaching
Mentoring
Action Learning
28
Feedback
• “Finding support in the circle enabled me to stretch my wings.”
• “Great to share ideas, advice and support. Very useful networking.”
• “It’s been a great experience; I look forward to be a part of others like this.”
• “The most worthwhile thing was sharing ideas, seeing how others approached things and bouncing ideas off people.”
• “I am so much more confident now and I have a clearer vision for my business”
www.kaleidoscopeproject.eu/
https://www.inovaconsult.com/projects/female-2/
http://www.wings-network.eu/en
https://www.globalfemart.eu/
http://ruralwomeninbusiness.eu/
