School’s out for female entrepreneurs

Mentoring organisation Informatics Ventures has staged Scotland’s first “school for female entrepreneurs” to help nurture the next generation of business leaders.

Hosted by the University of Stirling Management Centre, the event brought together some of the brightest emerging talent in the fields of energy, life sciences and technology.

Course leader Julie McFarlane, of Heriot-Watt University, said: “I am really encouraged to see the growing number of female entrepreneurs emerging in Scotland.

“We think it’s important that they have a forum in which to share ideas and develop their own.”

Official figures show that almost a third of self-employed people in Scotland are female, while women account for about 18 per cent of small and medium-sized employers.

Joyce Onuonga, founder and chief executive of solar power firm Daima Energy Solutions, said the three-day event had been “very useful” and would help propel the Fife-based company “to the next level”.