Girl power beats recession blues

Rochdale Women's Enterprise Initiative is to be no more...but it is not the end!

The economy is still on the brink, but one team of Rochdale ladies has pulled together to form a successful business network, which has pumped life into budding business ventures across the borough.

Rochdale Women’s Enterprise Network holds quarterly meetings with a number of business women who are looking to expand, set up, or explore the idea of creating a new business in Rochdale, Heywood, and Middleton.

From the network an offspring organisation was born in 2001, the Rochdale Women’s Enterprise Initiative, which, having gained funding from numerous sources became a key service giving help and advice to hundreds of business women.

However, as of Tuesday 30 June the initiative will cease to exist but, as Jane Glasher-white, who helps run the initiative and the network, says it is far from the end, as there are new exciting plans ahead.

She said: “It was the network which created the initiative, and now the initiative is closing, it doesn’t mean that it will be the end of the network.

“In fact, it doesn’t mean there can’t be another initiative, we are hoping to bring something back, maybe under a different name; much of this depends of funding.”

She added: “Watch this space, we aren’t going anywhere and we do have things planned for the future.”

Rochdale Borough Women’s Enterprise Network (RBWEN) is the only organisation nationwide to win all three Prowess Flagship Awards - the highest accolade in service.

The Aim of the Rochdale Borough Women’s Enterprise Network is to promote independence and self-belief amongst women entrepreneurs in Rochdale borough.