London's top female entrepreneurs celebrated

May 2009 - News release

Some of the UK’s brightest female entrepreneurs are defying the recession by developing ad growing new business ventures. They were celebrated recently at The FreshIdeas Events Mentor Competition Awards, held at HSBC, Mayfair.

For the past 6 months, ten of London’s most talented women entrepreneurs have been receiving expert knowledge from leading businesswomen, thanks to a mentoring scheme developed by FreshIdeas Events. The aim has been to develop and nurture London’s top female entrepreneurs and take their businesses to the next level.




Supported by Business Link in London, HSBC and BT Business, the event showcased the experiences of these entrepreneurs, culminating in the announcement of the winning Mentor pair of the year - Karen Darby, Founder and CEO Call Britannia, and Paula Wynne, director of Remote Employment.

Jackie Brennan Director of FreshIdeas Events said:

“The awards evening is a fitting celebration of the entrepreneurs’ achievements.  We are pleased to have matched such bright entrepreneurs with some of London’s leading businesswomen.

This scheme has required hard work from all of these women, and the positive outcome from this mentoring programme is extremely promising for London’s small business community.  We look forward to expanding this programme and making mentoring available to many more of London’s business owners."

From her pairing with Karen Darby, Paula Wynne, has already seen her business grow from strength to strength. Remote Employment is an online web service dedicated to connecting employers with job seekers who work remotely or work from home.

The prizes for the winning pair included free business advice and support from Business Link in London, and from HSBC, two tickets to Wimbledon, a Tiffany necklace and a bottle of champagne.

Karen Darby, Paula Wynne & Jackie Brennan at the FreshIdeas Events Mentor Competition.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Fran Currie, Chief Operating Officer at Business Link in London congratulated the participants on their achievements.

“Congratulations to all of the participants for their hard work and perseverance. These women learned from the best in the fields and I am highly impressed with the quality of all the entrepreneurs” she said.

Pointing to recent research conducted by Business Link in London, Ms Currie said that many women entrepreneurs continue to face barriers to developing and growing their business.

“Business Link in London was delighted to support this worthwhile programme.  It is vital in the current climate that London’s women entrepreneurs are encouraged by other established businesses and organisations to develop and succeed in their own business ventures.”

Panellists discuss their experiences at the FreshIdeas event.

Event photos by Jasmin Mamani - www.imagebyjasmin.com - jasmin@imagebyjasmin.co.uk