Wednesday 8th March 2017
Happy International Women’s Day!
A key focus of today is celebrating women’s achievements in the political, economic, and social spheres. Here at Ajuda, we firmly believe that opportunities for women should be maximised in all walks of life, and particularly in business. This would be beneficial to society as a whole, as increasing the number of women in business could bring huge economic growth – RBS calculated that ‘boosting female entrepreneurship could deliver approximately £60bn extra to the UK economy’.*
The Managing Director and founder of Ajuda, Dawn Evans, was named Female Entrepreneur of the Year 2016 at the South Wales Business Awards. Her initial business plan was to create a business that delivered First Aid training in Cardiff. However, since she established Ajuda in 2009, it has expanded to train thousands of people, both locally and across the UK, in a variety of different courses. It is our aim to truly make a difference to safety standards in the community and further afield, and upskill as many people as possible.
A Role Model for the Welsh Government Big Ideas Programme, Dawn strives to inspire young people to follow the path of entrepreneurship. She often delivers presentations at schools and colleges, where she shares her own experiences of founding a successful local company. Through her role as a business mentor for The Prince’s Trust, she has also given support and advice to young individuals who are entering into self-employment.
The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day campaign, #BeBoldforChange, encourages us all to take action to contribute to a more gender equal world: ‘Through purposeful collaboration, we can help women advance and unleash the limitless potential offered to economies the world over.’* We hope that today, by celebrating women in leadership roles, we can promote their visibility – giving them due credit for their success and highlighting role models for other women to be inspired by.
*Anne McPherson, RBS, published in the Guardian Wednesday 10th April 2013 – https://www.theguardian.com/media-network/media-network-blog/2013/apr/10/female-business-owners-banks-help
*https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Theme