Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has today announced his support for WEConnect, a new initiative aimed at connecting women owned companies with multinational corporations.

WEConnect works to break down the barriers faced by women entrepreneurs in securing corporate contracts. Although 16% of UK businesses are women owned, less than 3% of corporate and public sector contracts go to women business enterprises* (WBEs**).

WEConnect puts WBEs in touch with key procurement contacts in the corporate sector, providing supplier diversity and giving large corporates the confidence to purchase from women-owned businesses, which have achieved the WEConnect certification.

Commenting on the initiative, Lord Mandelson said, “The Government is committed to unlocking the entrepreneurial talent of women. This is an economic imperative. If women started businesses at the same rate as men there would be 150,000 extra start-ups each year and if we matched US levels of female entrepreneurship there would be 900,000 more businesses in the UK. Closing these and other enterprise gaps is essential to our productivity and competitiveness and to fulfilling the talent and potential of all of our people.

“In March we released a new Enterprise Strategy, with measures to unlock the potential of more people, particularly women, and to help create an environment where those wishing to grow their businesses are given every opportunity to do so. My Department is supporting WEConnect’s activities in helping to expand women-owned businesses’ marketing and growth opportunities, as larger companies seek to diversify their supplier base and increasingly recognise the importance of women-led businesses in their supply chain."

Caroline Roberts, Executive Director of WEConnect comments, “ I would urge all ambitious women entrepreneurs to find out more about WEConnect. We can provide opportunities to work with global corporations such as Citi, Accenture and Goldman Sachs to name but a few.”