Inspiring Women Wales Podcast
INSPIRING WOMEN WALES PODCAST
Brought to you by USW Exchange and NatWest Cymru
Women have fundamentally different experiences to men in business. Research shows that women who start and grow a business face more barriers around access to finance, disproportionate caring responsibilities, and different levels of access to networks.
The Covid pandemic has heightened these barriers, putting pressure on women in business as they rebuild and emerge from the challenges of the past two years.
Join host Gemma Casey as she brings you the stories of brilliant female founders of Welsh businesses who have faced all of these challenges - and more.
Inspiring Women Wales tells stories you can relate to, stories to inspire you and give you the confidence to move forward with your business dreams.
Season 2
Natalie Isaac, Director of the 44 Group, discusses her journey from bringing a taste of Spain to south Wales, to coping with momentous decisions in the face of multiple crises.
Valerie from Goch & Co chats about finding the confidence to invest in the new business, managing cashflow, and lessons that can be carried over from a corporate career
Frankie Hobro spent years travelling the world, working in far-flung and exotic places before buying Anglesey Sea Zoo. She talks transferable skills and keeping her business dream alive.
Anna Burke is Co-Founder and Managing Director of Animated Technologies, talks about how 'sales' can be approached in a collaborative way.
Ceri talks about offering tailored support to parents; speaking up about what you need as you start up and scale up; and finding your own community to give you support along the way.
In this episode Gemma chats to Lianne Weaver, founder of Beam Development and Training, about continuing to do a job only because you think it's what's expected of you.
Season 1
Helen talks about her journey from first dipping her toe in the family business at the age of ten, to bringing the Tiger Stores brand to Wales.
Cherie describes how fleeing an abusive relationship led to her setting up a business designed to empower women.
Mandy discusses the challenges - and rewards - of creating a brand with purpose and passion at its heart.
Claire left a successful marketing career to self-fund a travel company based on her passion for the great Welsh outdoors.
After a successful career as a BBC journalist and PR Manager for GoCompare, Kath gave it all up for the world of self-employment.
Adele Pember, founder of Dog Furiendly, talks about turning her 'passion project' into a full-time business.
About the host
Gemma Casey is NatWest Cymru's Ecosystem Manager for Wales, leading on the bank's enterprise support partnerships.
She is an experienced journalist, working in local newspapers, for a national news agency and in BBC radio and television before joining the bank's press office, where she led on communications across Wales and the South West.
She is passionate about championing and supporting small businesses, having grown up in a family which ran a third-generation business in the South Wales Valleys.
She lives in Cardiff with her husband and young son, and juggles family life and the 'day job' with a side hustle as a communications specialist and copywriter. She spends a lot of time thinking about the holy grail - doing what you love and having a healthy work-life balance - and works to help other women in business who are on the same quest.
NatWest
As the UK's biggest bank for business, NatWest is committed to championing women's potential and to helping you start, scale and succeed.
As long-standing supporters of Women in Business, the bank understands the challenges women might face when setting up or running a business. NatWest has more than 1,000 Women in Business Accredited Specialists on hand to provide support, expertise and guidance.
The Rose Review
The Rose Review was launched in March 2019 by Alison Rose, NatWest's CEO, at the request of the UK government. It sets out to identify the disparity between male and female entrepreneurs when starting and scaling businesses, and the barriers facing women.
This has resulted in 'unrealised potential' for the UK economy. Advancing female entrepreneurship represents a £250bn opportunity for the economy.
USW Exchange
USW Exchange is the front door for business engagement at the University of South Wales, connecting industry to academia to support a range of business challenges.
Through our Developing Entrepreneurial Women programme with NatWest Cymru, we harness the skills and expertise from across the University to help bring greater gender diversity to the business sector in Wales.
Contact USW Exchange:
With USW Exchange hubs in both Pontypridd and Newport Campuses & a comprehensive virtual engagement offering, we're never far away.
Pontypridd
USW Exchange,
University of South Wales,
Llantwit Road,
Treforest,
Pontypridd CF37 1DL
Newport
USW Exchange,
University of South Wales,
Usk Way,
Newport,
NP20 2BP