Over 70 people gathered at the end of project celebration event at Buxted Park Hotel on 9th March 2015 to view an exhibition of the Swift Participants’ business ideas, watch a film about the project and to hear from a range of guest speakers including Baroness Garden of Frognal, Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex – Peter Field, Chief Executive of ESCC – Becky Shaw, Abi Kolliari from American Express and Frances Tobin of the Makers Atelier.
Said Peter Field, “The energy that is buzzing around this room is fantastic and I want to congratulate everyone involved in the project. It’s absolutely vital that we expand the self-employed business sector and develop great ideas in a safe environment and that’s exactly what’s happened here.”
Baroness Garden, who was a member of the House of Lords Digital Skills Committee during 2014, said “It’s increasingly important to have good connectivity and the Government are making good progress, but women are under-represented in IT and an additional £2.6 billion a year could be created by involving more women in digital skills.”
Becky Shaw said, “If women started businesses at the same rate as men, then we would have a million more women in business. The most important thing that stops women from going into business is the risk of failure and this project recognised that by providing peer to peer sessions which have afforded a network of support going forward.”
Said Rachel Lewis, Chief Executive of Sound Architect, “This project has given women in East Sussex an amazing opportunity to develop their businesses; however, with the programme being heavily oversubscribed, it is clear that there are many more women in the County that could benefit. We will continue to seek to capitalise on the success of the Swift Project and to help another cohort of entrepreneurial women contribute to the economy of East Sussex.”
