Women boost firms' start-up rate

Laura Tennsion is one of the many women entrepreneurs in Wales

Levels of people launching their own business in Wales has doubled over the past five years, according to a report.

The study found 5.5% of the population was involved in some form of entrepreneurship last year. In 2000, the figure was 2.6%.

The rate of new businessmen and women has outstripped the other 33 nations and regions covered by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM).

Part of the success is down to a steady number of new firms run by women.

The sixth annual GEM report is a cross section of the entrepreneurial activity in 34 economies with a total labour force of 566 million.

Wales was at the bottom of the 12 UK regions in the first report, but has since turned round the situation.

It is estimated that 98,000 adults are entrepreneurially active, around 7.4%of the labour force.

Since 2000, only three other nations, Argentina, France and Singapore, have shown an overall increase in their activity rate.

No country has increased its rate of self-starter firms as much as Wales

But none have improved at a greater rate than Wales during the same period.

The research was undertaken by Professor David Brooksbank of the University of Glamorgan and Professor Dylan Jones-Evans, director of the new National Entrepreneurship Observatory for Wales.

Pro Jones-Evans said the high level of female entrepreneurs in Wales - three women for every four men - had helped maintain its growth in the activity.

"Wales has one of the best gender balances in entrepreneurship in the whole world. In the majority of nations, there are almost twice as many men who are active entrepreneurs than women," he said.

'Purse strings'

Prof Jones-Evans cited Laura Tennison, the 38-year-old founder and managing director of the internet and mail order maternity and baby wear firm, JoJo Maman Bébé, as an example of business success among women in Wales.

Launched ten years ago with two part-time employees, JoJo Maman Bébé now has 90 employees and a turnover of around £10m.

Ms Tennison said: "Women can be very good at running a business. You need that organisational ability, to keep strict control of the purse strings. Women do tend to be quite good at that.

She added that women can often have a cooler head when it comes to dealing with money.

"I do believe that certainly in Wales, men want to make a quick buck and to get out. Maybe women want to see it through and have the presence of mind to keep going. Women do see a longer term plan."

The GEM report also shows that Wales has the highest level of investors in new business ventures in Britain, with around 34,000 people investing an average of £3,440 per firm.

The findings of the Welsh Development Agency backed study are being announced at a conference in Cardiff on Friday.

Future studies will be researched by National Entrepreneurship Observatory for Wales (NEO), a joint project between the Business School at the University of Glamorgan and the Centre for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences at Cardiff University.