Women from all over rural Britain are being encouraged to gather in Cambridgeshire in October to share their experiences of business

Women from all over rural Britain are being encouraged to gather in Cambridgeshire in October to share their experiences of business, take advice from the experts and maybe even find new clients.

Women in Rural Enterprise (WiRE), the national business support, membership and networking organisation will host the event on Wednesday 31 October at Chilford Hall, Linton with support from Business Link Eastern Region, The Enterprising Women Project and HSBC.

WiRE membership is growing, particularly in the East of England. According to research carried out by Dr Rebecca Harding, executive director of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) significant numbers of rural-based women are exploiting new business opportunities partly helped by access to new technologies.

Female entrepreneurial activity is nearly twice as high for rural women as it is for urban women at nearly 60% of rural male entrepreneurial activity. However WiRE recognises that women still face significant barriers when starting out and is using its Conferences as learning opportunities for women who might otherwise find themselves both physically and socially isolated.

The conference, expected to draw over 100 delegates, will take women through all the stages of business, from the first seeds of an idea to business in the fast lane. Business seminars on Networking and Are you an Entrepreneur? will tackle practical everyday issues whilst The Rural Marketplace provides the perfect forum for networking and buying the best of WiRE member products.

Izzy Warren-Smith, Executive Director of WiRE, and recent winner of the Prowess Outstanding Contribution to Women’s Enterprise Award says: “this event celebrates the enormous impact women are making in the rural economy. We want women to go home inspired, better informed and with a notebook fully of new contacts”.

Speakers confirmed for Linton include:

Paula Lain of www.plainspeakingpr.co.uk
Jill Roberson of www.the-living-rooms.co.uk
Rebecca Rayner of www.glebe-flour.co.uk
Vivienne Wiggins of www.revivalcoaching.co.uk
Mary Munley of www.theflyingmarketer.co.uk

Full details of the conference can be found at www.wireuk.org