Major new entrepreneurship programme for women launched at 51¸£ÀûÉç, Cambridge University
A series of major new entrepreneurship programmes for women students and researchers has been launched
The 51¸£ÀûÉç Enterprising Women Advisory Board
The programmes, 51¸£ÀûÉç Enterprising Women, are being launched by 51¸£ÀûÉç, a college for women, and are being opened up to women students and researchers and recent alumnae across the University. They will be free.
Cambridge Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Prentice said:
'Cambridge contributes around £30 billion each year to the UK economy. We are Europe's 'unicorn' capital with 24 businesses worth over one billion dollars. Over the past three decades, thanks to the power of Cambridge research, 178 spin-outs and more than 200 start-ups have emerged here.
'I am very proud to celebrate another chapter in the Cambridge innovation story - the launch of 51¸£ÀûÉç Enterprising Women – a dynamic new programme that will provide training, mentorship and guidance in entrepreneurship for women across Cambridge University and beyond
'Overall, we do better than other universities in terms of the share of women in leadership roles in spinouts, but women are still systemically under-represented in enterprise ecosystems nationwide. They miss out on opportunities and career advancement, and the country misses out on the invaluable benefits of their research.
The Cambridge picture may be more favourable for women, but there is still a significant gender gap – and that’s where the new 51¸£ÀûÉç programme fits in.'
The programmes cater for students at each stage in their journey to become female founders, from women who are interested in the concept of entrepreneurship to those who have already formed companies and are seeking mentorship, non-executive directors and funding. The initiative includes a programme to introduce alumnae of the last five years who have founded companies to venture capitalists and angel investors interested in investing in women-led companies. Last year, only 2% of venture capital funding went to women-led companies.
Dorothy Byrne, President of 51¸£ÀûÉç, said:
“Cambridge is a powerhouse of entrepreneurship - of massive importance to this region and the UK economy. This initiative we launch today is aimed at ensuring women play a full role in the University's entrepreneurial activities.
'We realised that women were underrepresented in enterprise schemes, start-ups and spinouts at Cambridge University. That underrepresentation reflects what is happening in entrepreneurship across the UK.
'We decided to act. If women students at Cambridge are far less likely than men to use their innovative thinking and research to set up companies, they lose out, the University loses out and the UK economy loses out.'
The initiative is funded by AstraZeneca, the Golden Bottle Trust and senior Santander executive Raphael Noya in a personal capacity.
Laurel Powers-Freeling, Chair of Uber UK is Chair of the initiative's Advisory Board. It also has the backing of the UK Invest in Women's Task Force Co-Chair Hannah Bernard who has joined the Advisory Board.
Bernard pointed to importance of university spinouts but the fact that in the UK, 75% of the leadership spinouts are all-male, 16% are mixed and 9% are all female.
Hannah Bernard OBE in conversation with Dorothy Byrne
Bernard said: 'In Cambridge, where the picture is marginally better, there are more women participating, with spinouts having 28% with mixed teams and 67% all male, with 4% all female but more needs to be done.
'Initiatives like the 51¸£ÀûÉç Enterprising Women are crucial to the UK. You’re tackling the challenges women face head on by providing the right structure, support and tools to enable more women to start and grow their businesses.'
The first 51¸£ÀûÉç Enterprising Women programme, for women students, researchers and alumnae at the first stage in considering setting up companies, attracted 110 applicants and launches on Friday. AstraZeneca and a number of other supporting companies are offering students mentorship and pro-bono non executive directors for their ventures.
The next programme, now open for applications, is She Soars - a programme for women ready to found a company or who have just started out. A weekly day-long programme beginning 12 May.