What is the Women’s Business Centre?

What is the Women’s Business Centre?

The Women’s Business Centre is here to help you bring your business idea to life and flourish as a business owner.
It is run by Women’s Enterprise Scotland (WES), a research-led, not for profit Community Interest Company which has been championing women-led and women-owned businesses since 2011.

At Women’s Enterprise Scotland (WES) we have worked with countless women-owned businesses over the years. Our years of research and data and our practical experience tell us how much women benefit from particular kinds of support in shaping their business ideas and developing their businesses. This website has been designed to share knowledge, practical tips and experiences to help more women and girls start up and flourish. Right now just one in five businesses are owned by women in Scotland and the UK. Our ambition is for that number to grow and keep growing, and to ensure that all these businesses can access the right support to help them thrive no matter what stage they’re at.

Who is behind WES and the Women’s Business Centre?

Behind the Women’s Business Centre and Women’s Enterprise Scotland (WES) is a team of women who want to use their own business experiences to help others achieve their business aspirations. Their skills range from starting and running businesses as well as in other important business skills including banking, angel investment, communications strategy and marketing, digital and technology, business advice, mentoring and policy-making.

Whether you are curious about starting up a business and want to find out more or shape up a business idea, access to both theory and practical tips from those who have already been there, can offer a great foundation from which to start.

We are here to help you on your way to success.

We’ve spoken to women-owned businesses from the length and breadth of Scotland, who have stepped forward to share their business experiences and inspire you on your own business journey. These women have already walked the path you’re on and they all have valuable and inspiring stories about how they became entrepreneurs and created successful businesses.

Many of the the pioneering women-owned businesses who have shared their stories are WES Ambassadors. The WES Ambassador programme raises awareness of women as successful business founders and owners – helping to inspire and encourage others to start up. The WES Ambassadors are trained to undertake a range of activities from networking locally to speaking at large scale events, in Parliament and in the media. They are relatable role models – or ‘real models’, as they themselves say.

You can meet some of our Ambassadors here on this site where they share their business stories, hints and tips.

More about Women’s Enterprise Scotland (WES)

Women’s Enterprise Scotland (WES) has an ambition for women-led and women-owned businesses and contributes to think-tanks, research and policy development across the world, including the Think-20 and the UK Women’s Enterprise Policy Group. This work helps identify the latest initiatives which support women-owned businesses and ensures that women in Scotland can benefit from these advances and innovations. By enabling more women to start-up businesses, we will help tackle the gender gap in enterprise and potentially contribute an additional £8bn into the Scottish economy every year.

WES is a member of the Women in Enterprise Action Group.

In Scotland, WES is a member of the Women in Enterprise (WIE) Action Group. The formation and activity of the Action Group is one of the recommendations of the Women in Enterprise Framework and Action Plan, published in 2014. The Framework is co-authored by Women’s Enterprise Scotland and the Scottish Government and was the first of its kind in Europe.
The WIE Group includes representation from a number of other organisations who may be able to help you develop your business. We refer to them throughout the site.