This month will see celebrations marking a significant anniversary for an Enfield-based organisation that empowers businesses to start, grow and succeed and has a special focus on women entrepreneurs.
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On Friday 20th March more than a hundred guests will be attending a special event at the Dugdale Centre to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Enterprise Enfield. The official cake cutting will be performed by Enfield's deputy mayor, Nelly Gyosheva. In addition to business owners and entrepreneurs, representatives from organisations which have provided Enterprise Enfield with funding for specific business support programmes over the years will also be in attendance - such as the RSA Trust, Enfield Council, the Greater London Assembly and Local London.
Sue King, Enterprise Enfield's marketing manager, says the organisation is immensely proud to have inspired, supported and empowered thousands of people to start, grow and sustain their businesses over the past 40 years – not just in the borough of Enfield, but across the capital. In the last year alone, 915 people accessed its services and nearly 4,500 hours of business advice were provided.
The event's theme - A Celebration of Inspiring Women in Business - reflects Enterprise Enfield's special focus on female entrepreneurship: over 60% of its clients are female, and its bespoke business start-up programmes for women have over the past 18 years empowered over 450 women to be ready to launch their own businesses.
Guests will have the chance to hear talks from “truly inspiring“ women in business, who will share their journeys, including their inspirations, challenges and achievements. A range of businesses will be showcasing their products and services in the Dugdale foyer, and guests will enjoy plenty of time to network with like-minded business owners.
Enterprise Enfield CEO Despina Johnson will be presenting a talk on the impact Enterprise Enfield has made on entrepreneurs and businesses in the region. She said:
“We are so proud to be celebrating this milestone anniversary. Over four decades, our organisation has helped countless people to start, grow and thrive in business. Our expert advice, guidance and support services have been instrumental in empowering people across London to unlock their potential, develop their business knowledge and skills to achieve their goals and dreams. In this increasingly digital world, it’s more important than ever for businesses to stay ahead of the game. Our various digital advice and support programmes have enabled owners to utilise digital tools and technology and grow their businesses effectively online – boosting sales, turnover and resilience.
"This celebratory event is an opportunity to showcase our clients’ business successes and the real impact we have made on their journeys."
An Enterprise Enfield success story!
Ela Teague, owner of Enfield-based Indian cookery school, Cook Eat Joy, will be sharing her story at the event as part of the Inspiring Women panel discussion. Ela has been celebrated as one of the UK’s “most impressive female entrepreneurs” by f:Entrepreneur as part of their #iAlso100 campaign.
As a former teacher with a passion for cooking, Ela initially sought help from Enterprise Enfield to develop her cookery school idea. She enrolled on the organisation’s flagship Inspiring Women Start Up Programme for expert advice, webinars and seminars covering all the essential aspects of business. The course, which is fully funded by local charity the RSA Trust, empowered Ela with all the practical information, business skills and confidence she needed to successfully launch her business in 2020. Subsequently, she benefitted from additional digital advice and support under the organisation’s Ebusiness Programme, which enabled her to make better use of digital tools and technology in her business. She said:
“I was really pleased with all the advice and support I was given; it was practical and doable. I felt empowered to move on with areas I had been struggling with and confident that I would be able to continue to make simple changes that would benefit the digital areas of the business. I was also given ideas on how to grow the business, whether this was with additional services that were easy to achieve or small changes to working practices such as automation to free up time.”
Enterprise Enfield’s celebratory event will also be marking International Women’s Day (IWD) and linking in with this year’s IWD theme, #GiveTo Gain, Enterprise Enfield will be fundraising for a fantastic charity which supports those affected by breast cancer, the Pink Ribbon Foundation
