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Women lack SME confidence

Sep 26 2007

The number of female entrepreneurs is not increasing because many women lack the confidence to form a start-up company, it has been claimed.

According to everywoman, a female business support network, women are also more risk adverse - meaning they are unwilling to gamble on a new enterprise.

Karen Gill, co-founder of everywoman, says: 'One of the biggest barriers women have to overcome to start up a business is their own lack of confidence to do so.

'On top of this, women tend to be more risk adverse when it comes to taking loans. Plus, they have less capital available due to their earnings being less than men in the workplace.'

She added: 'There has been recent evidence that the banks have been lending less to women than men.'

Recent figures produced by everywoman suggest just 27 per cent of the UK's self-employed population are female.

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