PRESS RELEA
SE
The Swift Project takes off
“There has never been a greater need or time for women to start and run a business”
said Becky Shaw, Chief Executive of East Sussex County Council (ESCC) at the launch of
the Swift Project on Wednesday 1st October in Robertsbridge.
The project, funded by the Government Equalities Office and run in partnership by ESCC
and local charity, Sound Architect, supports self-employment and entrepreneurial
opportunities for women by enhancing their digital skills and enabling them to take
advantage of the faster and more reliable broadband that ESCC are putting in place,
particularly in rural areas.
Well over 40 women have signed up to access the part-time training and support
delivered in collaboration with MD Hub, a peer to peer business growth network for
Managing Directors, between October and March 2015. Those involved come from
varied backgrounds with some already running established businesses and some who
have a germ of an idea but want some help and advice to get started.
Becky Shaw explained, “Nationally, there could be an extra one million female
entrepreneurs if women started businesses at the same rate as men. Locally, of those in
self-employment, only 13,200 are women, compared to 37,000 men, which is well below
the national average. In East Sussex, we think that around £295m can be generated
over the next 10 years through better access to and use of improved broadband and
that’s why we are absolutely committed to business growth through investment in
business essential infrastructure.”
The launch event included an opportunity to hear from an inspirational woman already
running a successful business in the County. Marian Harding of Court Lodge Organics
explained how she had set up her organic
Funded by the Government Equalities Office
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pouring yoghurt business in 2001 and now employed a small team of people and
supplied big household names like Waitrose and Able and Cole.
The ethos of the Swift project was summed up at the event by Rachel Lewis, Chief
Executive of Sound Architect who said, “We want to equip women with the skills and
confidence they need to make an important contribution to the economy and become
mentors to others by sharing their knowledge.”
ENDS
Twitter: @swiftproject1
For further information please contact Ruth Maddison on 01825 891094 or 07508
277371
Notes to Editors:
About e-Sussex
The ’e-Sussex’ project, led by East Sussex County Council in partnership with Brighton & Hove City
Council, and with BT as the delivery partner, is working to improve broadband speeds and
reliability for businesses and homes in East Sussex.
Funded mainly by the County Council, with a supporting grant from Central Government, ESCC is
investing in new infrastructure in areas that would otherwise miss out. The project is installing in
excess of 1,000km of fibre – the approximate distance from Brighton to Berlin! – and will install
over 400 new fibre cabinets and other structures. Every exchange area in the county is covered
and will reach over 65,000 premises by the end of the project in March 2016
www.goesussex.co.uk
About Sound Architect
Sound Architect provides stimulating, exciting, challenging and fun educational experiences for all
ages, social groups and abilities through IT, web design, and multimedia projects. The charity has
worked extensively with people of all ages including those with disabilities to raise awareness of
difficult issues, to make history come to life and to ensure that valuable research and memories
are recorded for posterity.
Since 2003 Sound Architect has managed and facilitated over 1000 programmes, and worked with
over 4,500 participants, in partnership with various organisations including the European Social
Fund, The Department of Trade and Industry, the Innovations Fund, East Sussex County Council
and the Youth Development Service amongst others. Website: www.soundarchitect.org.uk
About MD Hub
The MDHUB is the premier peer to peer business growth network for Managing Directors and
Senior Board Directors in the South of England. They help with problem solving, lifting the
pressure and finding ways through the blocks to grow a business with the support of like-minded
entrepreneurial Managing Directors.
Their skilled facilitators make sure that groups provide a confidential, open and honest
environment that support members to get the help they need, whether that is problem solving or
testing new ideas. In getting to know businesses extremely
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well, they can make connections with the right individuals or group but also, when needed
specialists from their own network of advisors. Their hubacademy programme provides a breadth
of management training for MDs and their less experienced management team. Website:
www.mdhub.co.uk
Funded by the Government Equalities Office
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