The initiative, titled the Women’s Entrepreneurs Workout, follows its inaugural event in 2022, which saw participation from female entrepreneurs across diverse sectors such as electronic vehicles, fintech, health tech, app development, and educational tools. This event coincides with the lead-up to International Women's Day on the 8th of March, which this year focuses on inspiring inclusion, mirroring the event's core objective.

The programme offers an in-depth exploration into various business aspects, including business models, value propositions, customer segmentation, strategies for customer acquisition, and revenue generation. It aims to provide practical, hands-on experience, enabling participants to apply theoretical concepts to their business ideas. The event culminates with the opportunity for founders to present their business plans to a panel of experts, gaining invaluable, unbiased feedback.

Participants in this event may also have the chance to join the Science Park’s Catalyst business accelerator, a fully-funded, six-month programme starting each September. This provides access to world-class mentoring, workshop-style learning, and integration into the innovation community at the Science Park.

The University of Southampton, a member of the SETsquared Partnership, collaborates with other universities in the South and South West to provide business and innovation support to tech startups and scale-ups. SETsquared has assisted its members in raising £4.4bn since 2002 and will deliver this training alongside the Southampton Science Park team, ensuring a diverse range of experienced trainers and mentors.

Serena Giaminardi, Head of Programmes and Investment, SETsquared, says: “Research shows that a record number of businesses were incorporated in the UK by female founders in 2023 – over 160,000. Whilst this is fantastic news for female entrepreneurship, we also know that all-female-founded businesses in the UK receive only 2% of equity investment, a figure which hasn’t improved since 2011. We want to start closing this gap. We are passionate about supporting female founders and believe that budding entrepreneurs from any background should not face barriers to starting a business. We’re here to support them to get the backing and finance they need to thrive.”

Robin Chave, CEO of Southampton Science Park, commented: “We are really looking forward to welcoming another group of talented women to the Science Park in March for our female-focused Entrepreneurs Workout. The atmosphere of last year’s programme was warm, fun, and relaxed, with participants leaving clearly feeling inspired to take their ideas or established businesses forward. If you have an idea or are already running an early-stage business, we urge you to apply. It’s an opportunity to test and validate your business plan, gaining lots of objective feedback from experienced mentors who have no other agenda than to help you succeed.”

The feedback from last year’s cohort was very encouraging, including “absolutely brilliant, loved being able to learn about the business model canvas, and the networking has been priceless” and “I felt more inclined to apply because it was an all-female programme. It felt like a safe space to share” and “being an all-female programme didn’t make me more inclined to apply, but it was the most positive outcome. We had a shared understanding of balancing work, business, and life.”

The Women’s Entrepreneurs Workout is fully funded by the University of Southampton Science Park. Applications are open to women with tech, science, or innovation ideas, sole traders, or those running early-stage innovation-led businesses, not-for-profits, or social ventures. The programme welcomes applicants from diverse backgrounds, including ethnic minorities, LGBTQIA+, and women with disabilities.