Facebook has announced plans to expand its #SheMeansBusiness progamme to 50,000 women, after exceeding its target.
The social media group launched the #SheMeansBusiness programme in 2016, and reached its target of training 10,000 prospective female entrepreneurs in 2017.
As a result of the success of the programme, Facebook announced that it plans to educate 50,000 women in 2018.
In partnership with Enterprise Nation, Facebook’s #SheMeansBusiness programme aims to tackle the ‘confidence curve’ by delivering dedicated training, events and online courses to give UK women the tools, support and practical advice they need to grow their businesses.
According to new research commissioned by Facebook, one in ten UK women want to set up a business, but the ‘confidence curve’ between the ages of 25-39 could be holding the most likely candidates back.
Of those surveyed aged between 25-39, just 64 per cent said they felt confident enough to set up a business. This compares to 81 per cent of women aged between 40 and 54 and 68 per cent of women in their late teens and early twenties who said they felt confident in becoming an entrepreneur.
Facebook will continue to work with Enterprise Nation and will call on the 10,000 women to ‘pass on’ their experiences, acting as role models to share their knowledge.
It will also run monthly nationwide Clinics to act as regular meeting points for women to network and gain support from one of #SheMeansBusiness mentors within Enterprise Nation’s marketplace.
Speaking about the programme, Nicola Mendelsohn, VP EMEA at Facebook said, “To empower women to achieve both their personal business ambitions and make a difference to the UK economy we need to address the pressing need for more relatable female leaders.”
“#SheMeansBusiness aims to do that by creating opportunities for would-be entrepreneurs to meet and learn from others who are relatable to them.”
“We’re proud that the programme has already made a difference to more than 10,000 women in 2017 alone.”
“In 2018 our ambition is to help thousands more, while offering opportunities for them to come together as a community to share the confidence and skills they need to succeed.”
Emma Jones MBE, founder of small business support group, Enterprise Nation, said, “There is a direct correlation between training and good outcomes in business.”
“That’s why we’ve been so pleased to work with Facebook to deliver digital skills workshops to more than 10,000 women over the last ten months – and will continue to do so in 2018.”
“It’s true, we are seeing more and more women starting businesses today and there’s never been a better time to start-up.”
“But it’s also true that if we are going to make further progress addressing the female confidence curve, we must continue to offer accessible and practical support, whilst shining a spotlight on the work of resilient self-starters who have overcome not just life hurdles, but solved problems and felt financial pain along the way to find success.”
