June 16th-20th 2025 is National Women’s Enterprise Week. Join us in supporting and celebrating female-powered innovation and entrepreneurship in partnership with The British Library, and the fight against funding inequality.

Why we exist

Entrepreneurship is a life changing experience and one we must seek to normalise, so that it is as natural a choice to become a business owner as it is to become a doctor, dentist or train driver. For women, this also means levelling up the numbers, as currently only one in four businesses is owned or run by a woman. Moreover, NWEW is focused on start-ups, as opposed to scale-ups, because it is the thousands of ‘acorns’, as opposed to the few ‘unicorns’ which actually make a difference to peoples’ lives on a day to basis around the UK – the small business which may simply be a kitchen table concern, but which changes the life choices of its owner for the better.

It is these businesses which circulate revenues in local economies, create employment for those people that supply them and most importantly, create financial independence and choices for those that own them. Make no mistake, when you throw the pebble of enterprise into even a small pond, the ripples go on forever. Entrepreneurship is important, particularly for women, not least because the UK will only achieve its full economic potential when women realise theirs.

Growing women's impact

To achieve this economic revolution, it is imperative that we grow the right infrastructure to support and encourage small businesses, one great example being the British Library Business & IP Centre, which provides free advice on all aspects of starting a business, has a stellar track record – over 60% of its clients are women, and 33% are ethnic minority – and a stunning 90%+ of businesses it helps are still trading on a rolling three-year basis, as opposed to a national average of 50%.

But we need to do more, much more, and that is why NWEW was founded, to highlight the importance of female entrepreneurship and encourage people around the UK to get involved in this national week of celebration.