25/01/2021 - Permalink

News from our partners: Star speakers for Marches International Women’s Day event in March

Related topics: Coronavirus / Economic growth / Partner organisations

News from our partners Marches Growth Hub

The role of women in business across the Marches will be celebrated at a special event to mark International Women’s Day.

The Marches Growth Hub, businesswoman Hollie Whittles and the Federation of Small Businesses have teamed up to organise the annual high-profile event on Monday 8 March 2021.

The online event – which gets under way at 10am – will include inspirational talks from a host of keynote speakers as well as networking opportunities.

Marches Growth Hub Shropshire manager Emma Chapman said it was the third year of the annual celebration – and the first time it had been extended to cover the whole of the Marches:-

“After nearly a year of the coronavirus pandemic, we thought it was more important than ever to bring together businesswomen from across Shropshire, Herefordshire, and Telford & Wrekin to celebrate this very special day.

“We have lined up an exceptional selection of women, who will talk about their own experiences of breaking down barriers in their careers and be able to pass on some of that knowledge to help others.

“This is a must-attend event for any woman in business in the Marches, as well as being a fantastic celebration of the contribution women make to the economy and success of the region.”

Hollie Whittles, FSB area lead for Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire and tech director for Telford-based Purple Frog Systems, is among the star speakers who will be sharing their stories and top tips from their areas of expertise:-

“This is always a highlight in my calendar, and I’m delighted that so many inspirational businesswomen and friends have agreed to speak. This is the third year running that we’ve organised this sell-out event and whilst we can’t meet in person this year, it will still be lots of fun online.”

Speakers include Trudie Adcock, global enterprise learning director for pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, broadcaster, presenter and TEDx speaker Merisha Stevenson, the CEO and founder of the KogoPAY Group Dr Narisa Chauvidul-Aw, Marches Local Enterprise Partnership chair Mandy Thorn and chief executive Gill Hamer, and Tracy Darke, Shropshire Council’s assistant director – economy and place.

Photos of International Women's Day event speakers

International Women’s Day event speakers

International social media and marketing speaker Teresa Heath-Wareing, the founder of Digital Women and SocialDay UK Lucy Hall and the FSB’s deputy head of English regions Linsey Luke complete the impressive line-up.

The event – which has sold out in both its previous years – costs £10. For more information and tickets visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/international-womens-day-2021-celebrating-shropshire-women-in-business-tickets-126852821203

Caption:  The speakers for the event 

For further information, contact Amy Bould at Be Bold Media on 01952 898121 or email amy@beboldpr.com

Marches Growth Hub

  • The Marches Growth Hub brings together all national and local business support in one place for the first time and is fully aligned to the Government’s ‘Business is GREAT’ campaign.
  • Backed by the Government, the Business Support Helpline provides free, impartial business support and signposting services to businesses in England. Give them a call today on freephone 0800 998 1098.
  • This is supported by physical hubs in Telford at the University of Wolverhampton’s Telford Innovation Campus, at Skylon Park in Hereford and at the Food Enterprise Centre in Shrewsbury.

Growth Hubs and the Growth Hub Network

  • The 38 Local Enterprise Partnership-led Growth Hubs across England bring together and simplify access to national and local business support. Supported by the Government, Growth Hubs ensure that no matter the size, sector or maturity of a business they provide locally tailored business support and advice to direct businesses to the most appropriate organisations to assist with their specific requests.

Some additional key facts:

There are 38 Growth Hubs covering the whole of England – one in each Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) area.

By the end of 2018/19 financial year, the Government had invested £56.4 million in Growth Hubs via Local Enterprise Partnerships and committed a further £12 million to Growth Hubs for 2019/20.

Marches Growth Hub Shropshire

The Marches Growth Hub Shropshire is a collaboration between Shropshire Council and The Marches Local Enterprise Partnership and provides free support to all Shropshire businesses.