Women in the EU need support and encouragement to realise their entrepreneurial potential
Although women are frequently more risk-averse and inherently cautious in business, they have the potential to be excellent entrepreneurs.
This was the message at a hearing entitled “From Dreaming to Achieving: How the EU can help women entrepreneurs shape its future”, organised by the WaW project and hosted by Croatian S&D deputy Biljana Borzan.
The audience heard that despite considerable efforts, the elements that support entrepreneurship lack balance.
Access to funding, be it through crowd sourcing, seed funding or venture capital remain resolutely male-dominated. This has created a fundamental gap in the route to success for many female would-be business leaders.
Another area where women could be encouraged is in having the vision to maximise the potential of their enterprises.
Lowri Evans, Director-General of DG Market, Industry and Entrepreneurship explained that currently, women launching their own business tend to start smaller.
In addition, they often don’t take the opportunity to scale up. She believed targeted help could make a difference, as could improving the ICT skills in women of all ages.
However, change needs to happen from an early age; the value of entrepreneurship and of risk-taking – need to be part of schooling for both sexes.
Read more about the ECWT and University of Strathclyde event 'From Dreaming to Achieving: How the EU can help women entrepreneurs shape its future'