More than 60 female entrepreneurs from across North Wales will gather at a special conference in Wrexham later this week to discuss the challenges facing women in business.

The Women in Business Conference, which has already sold-out, will take place at the Wrexham Enterprise Hub on Wednesday, March 20 and will bring together some of the region’s most successful female-led businesses. It is being organised by NatWest Cymru, BNI North Wales, Nelson Myatt Solicitors, and the Wrexham Enterprise Hub.

Speakers at the conference include Lynne Wood, co-founder of Deeside telecommunications specialists Direct Line Communications, and Teresa Carnall, managing director of TBC marketing in Colwyn Bay. Both will talk about the challenges they faced as females starting their own businesses and how they overcame them

According to the recently published Rose Report, led by Alison Rose, CEO of NatWest Commercial and Private Banking, only 33% of UK entrepreneurs are women. And despite the fact that women are just as successful as men in sustaining a business, only 39% are confident in their own abilities to start one compared with 55% of men.

Lynne Wood, co-founder and director of Director Line Communications, said:

“I grew in confidence at different stages of my career but the first board room breakthrough was as the first female Director at Midland Independent Newspapers. Sometimes, lack of confidence can hold women back but I hope stories like mine help more women believe in their own abilities and strength to achieve success in business.”

Owain Williams, NatWest Business Growth Enabler for North Wales, said:

“The Rose Report has revealed not just the barriers that women face, but the opportunities there are as well to drive real change.

“As a bank we want to see more women launching their own businesses and scaling their companies to their true potential, which is why we are working to support more female entrepreneurs and collaborating with other stakeholders in North Wales to provide important opportunities like the Women in Business Conference.”

Carl Turner, Community Manager at the Wrexham Enterprise Hub said:

“Across the UK, only a third of entrepreneurs are women, yet we know the talent is there in North Wales and it is important we provide the support and opportunities needed to help more women in the region start and scale their own businesses.

“Events such as this therefore aim to inspire more women to think about starting an enterprise. The Rose Report has highlighted that one of the biggest barriers stopping women from starting a business is that there are too few female role models. It’s only through highlighting the outstanding women entrepreneurs we have in North Wales and sharing their stories that we are going to break through that barrier, and help more women start their own enterprises.”