5-6 September European Conference on Women Entrepreneurs

Date: 11/09/1997

MORE than 200 participants took part in this conference, which looked at two of the biggest problems faced by women entrepreneurs, namely financing and training. Between 20-30&percent; of the 16 million SMEs currently operating within the EU are run by women, and female entrepreneurs have created around 21&percent; of the Union's new jobs.

THE conference concluded that women working in the small business sector currently had to deal with too much government bureaucracy. Delegates said the number of different payments which had to be made to national and local authorities should be reduced. They also called on governments to consider any extra administrative burden they might be imposing on businesses when drafting new laws.

A NUMBER of measures to make it easier for small businesses to gain access to funds were also suggested. These included introducing a five-year grace period for interest payments on loans and setting up 'one-stop-shops' for people applying for financing. Delegates said that the banking sector should also be more aware of the needs of customers seeking relatively small amounts of money to cover business start-up costs.

ON the issue of training, the conference suggested setting up a European academy for women entrepreneurs which would award graduates with a recognised diploma.