The Isle of Man Business & Innovation Centre is pleased to announce the launch and first meeting of the “Women in Business” network on the Isle of Man, which will take place from 6pm – 8pm on Tuesday 21st July 2009 at The Courthouse, Athol Street, Douglas.

The network’s mission is to inspire and foster entrepreneurial spirit, business capability and confidence in women of all ages on the Island and to be open and inclusive in terms of membership, involving women from a wide range of backgrounds.  It is intended that the network, which will interact at regular face-to-face meetings and online, will be relevant for female business owners and employed professionals as well as aspiring young business people.

“Women in Business” is an initiative by Isle of Man Business and Innovation Centre (IoM BIC), the Island’s dedicated business incubator that helps businesses “take off and land” on the Island through its programmes for local start-up and inward investor companies.   IoM BIC is also launching a Women’s Enterprise Start-Up programme.  Kate Lord, Project Officer, said “It’s exciting to see the thriving community of business women and female entrepreneurs across the globe and we’d love to hear from anyone on the Isle of Man who’s interested in the Women’s Enterprise Programme, whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur or interested in being involved in a mentorship or joint-venture capacity”.

Aside from enterprise, professional development is also an area of focus for the network.  Jan Bujko, a member of the Steering Committee, has very recently launched the Springboard Women’s development programme on the Isle of Man which is used by a number of top organisations in the UK.

Cat Turner (AXA), Debs Gwinnell  (Big Fish), Dr Gloria Miller (International Business School), Heather Smallwood (Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing), Kate Lord (IoM BIC), Lisa Underwood (Department of Trade & Industry) and Sherrilynne Starkie (Strive PR) are also members of the Steering Committee.

Kate Lord (IoM BIC) would encourage anyone with an interest in this area to come to the launch and visit the website to find out more.  “Ultimately we hope that the Women in Business network will open up business and development opportunities for women and their businesses on the Isle of Man, whilst providing a forum for shared interest, support and knowledge.  Raising female attendance at IOM business events is something we are keen to do as well as working with other organisations on and off Island.  We already have some fantastic women involved”.

Those with enquiries about the Isle of Man Business & Innovation Centre, Women in Business network or Women’s Enterprise Programme should contact Kate Lord by e-mail to kate@iombic.im or on 820930.

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Notes:

The Isle of Man Business & Innovation Centre is a joint initiative between the Isle of Man Department of Trade & Industry and Coventry University Enterprises, part of the Soft Landing Zone network of offices and a member of the National Business Incubation Association.

www.iombic.im  | www.ukbasepoint.com | www.gov.im/investiniom

Contact: Kate Lord, Project Officer, Isle of Man Business & Innovation Centre, Isle of Man Datacentre, Ronaldsway Industrial Estate, Ballasalla, Isle of Man IM9 2RS, Telephone: 01624 820930 Mobile: 01624 450749 E-mail: kate@iombic.im

Posted July 14th, 2009 by Kate No Comments » This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 14th, 2009 at 04:46 and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.