'There are still too few women starting out and growing a business. We need to eliminate the barriers that remain, be it access to finance or to childcare or because of some other form of discrimination. If women started new businesses at the same rate as men, we would have more than 100,000 extra new businesses each year' - Rt. Hon. Patricia Hewitt MP, Secretary for State for Trade and Industry
A quarter of the UK's 3.2 million self-employed workers are now women –
Labour Force Survey 2003
30 per cent of business owners are women - Labour Force Survey 2003
Female entrepreneurs have doubled in the last 25 years - Labour Force Survey 2003
The difference between male and female owned start-ups narrowed by 40 per cent in 2002 - Global Entrepreneur Monitor 2003
A third of the female population would start a business if it wasn't for the fear of failure - Global Entrepreneur Monitor 2003
SEED is a recognised brand, endorsed by the media, with a high profile spokesperson in Lynne Franks, who herself represents the values and vision of the Seed-preneur.
SEED works in the global arena and has the potential to extend its reach, bringing international national and regional groups of women entrepreneurs together as one network.
'There are still too few women starting out and growing a business. We need to eliminate the barriers that remain, be it access to finance or to childcare or because of some other form of discrimination. If women started new businesses at the same rate as men, we would have more than 100,000 extra new businesses each year' - Rt. Hon. Patricia Hewitt MP, Secretary for State for Trade and Industry