RURAL WOMEN AN IMPORTANT ENTERPRISE RESOURCE

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RURAL WOMEN AN IMPORTANT ENTERPRISE RESOURCE

• ANITA GAMBIE
• ECONOMIES ADVISER
• THE COUNTRYSIDE AGENCY

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Policy Context

• Dti/SBS Small Business Government the Way
  Forward.
• Dti/SBS A government action plan for small
  business.
• Dti/SBS Strategic framework for developing
  womens enterprise.
• RDAs Actions Plans for implementing the
  strategic framework for womens enterprise.
• Business Link Operators - targets for numbers of
  women accessing business support services.

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The Countryside Agency

• We are
• the Governments principal adviser on rural
  issues
• funded by Department for environment, food and
  rural affairs.
• We seek to achieve our aims through
• research and increasing our understanding of the
  issues
• demonstrating practical solutions to the
  problems and
• influencing policy makers and practitioners.

4
Rural economies Importance to UK economy

• Rural areas host 34 of Englands firms.
• About 1,000,000 enterprises.
• Nearly 6 million workers self-employed.
• More businesses per head of population.
• Greater proportion of workforce are
  self-employed.
• More women in self-employment than in urban
  areas.

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Rural disadvantage

• Similar to social exclusion in urban areas but in
  rural areas
• Difficult to identify as scattered and not
  concentrated
• Hidden and obscured by wider community in areas
  of apparent affluence and
• Exacerbated by poor transport, isolation, and
  patchy service provision.

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Low income self-employed

• Women
• Over the age of retirement
• Have two or more jobs and to work as
  self-employed in their second job
• Work alone or just with a business partner
• Have lower skill levels and
• Work in service industries, such as education,
  health social services private households.

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Profile of self-employed rural women

• Characteristics
• 31 of rural self-employed are women
• 21 of self-employed are full time and
• 62 are part-time
• In self-employment women are likely to
• Earn a low income
• Return to inactivity and
• Have two or more jobs with self-employment being
  a part-time option.

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Dale Action for Local Enterprise

• Difficulties in Dales villages include
• Lack of access to services
• Lack of capital
• Lack of access to information support
• Low aspirations about potential of business
  sector and
• Wider social issues.

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Dale Action for Local Enterprise

• Main project objective
• To pilot approaches to tackle underemployment
  unemployment for 18-30 year olds in remote rural
  areas through entrepreneurial activity.

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Dale Action for Local Enterprise

• Support package
• One to one support from Project Manager
• Individual training package
• Grant loan support for business start-up
• Local and external business mentors
• IT support for each new business
• A DALES business forum for young people and
• A virtual business park for DALE businesses.

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Dale Action for Local Enterprise

• Results
• 61 business start-ups 80 new jobs.
• Findings from evaluation workshop
  questionnaire
• 60 of clients would not have been able to start
  without the project
• 40 of clients have had great difficulty starting
  up without the project.

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Dale Action for Local Enterprise

• Success factors
• Appointment of the right person as Project
  Manager.
• Flexibility of support package
• Training
• IT elements.

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Goole Development Trust

• Main project objective
• To encourage enterprise in disadvantaged
  communities in and around Goole.
• Support package
• Incubator units for new enterprises
• Practice office
• Outreach service
• Community finance initiative

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Goole Development Trust

• Selected results
• March May 2002
• 40 clients - 29 male 11 female (27.5)
• June August 2002
• 30 clients 19 male 11 female (36.6)
• These indicate levels of interest from women
  entrepreneurs 2 and 3 times higher than average
  for sub-region which is 10-12.

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Goole Development Trust

• Success factors
• Support package tailored to an individuals
  needs
• Integrated nature of resources
• Intensive 1-1 support and
• Outreach services

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Lessons

• In summary the lessons from these projects
  indicates that enterprise support needs to
• Have a rural focus
• Be targeted
• Be accessible
• Flexible and
• Coordinated

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How we try and embed the learning from these
projects

• CA Chairman is Rural Advocate.
• Respond to national consultations e.g. ODPM/SE
  Unit Jobs enterprise in deprived areas.
• Work with the SBS rural issues team.
• CA represented on the National Policy Forum for
  business start-ups.
• Run events to disseminate lessons and share
  experience e.g. Social Enterprise Rural Social
  Economy to be held on 8/12/04.

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Rural women - An important enterprise resource

• Thank you for your attention
• For further details please contact
• anita.gambie_at_countryside.gov.uk or
• 01242 533438