Local enterprise agency, Wenta, held a celebratory awards event for local business women in Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes on Thursday 10th March at Putteridge Bury, Luton. 

The event, held for the second year running, had a great turnout with over 50 people attending.  Attendees gathered to celebrate the achievements of local women that have started or grown their business through the ‘Women and Broadband’ scheme – a project funded by the Government (DCMS UK and Broadband Delivery UK) with the support of Luton, Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes Councils, to support female entrepreneurs and increase their knowledge of social media and the internet. 

The awards fell into five categories: Best Business (under 12 months), Best Business (over 12 months), Best Social Media, Best Website and Outstanding Achievement.

Winners were Adina Keeley of Fashion Show Live Academy, Tanya Butler of My Bugle Ltd, Allegonda Dekenah of Alle Interiors, Tabitha Wainwright of Tabitha Mary and Alex Falcon Huerta of Soaring Falcon Accountancy.

Since the start of the Women and Broadband programme, the scheme has helped over 290 local business women to grow their business through the knowledge and understanding of social media and the internet.

Sharon Gaffney, Head of Education at Wenta, said:

“Wenta are pleased to be involved with this great scheme once again to help local women start or grow their businesses. As a result of the support, many more business women are now embracing social media and using it to get new customers and drive their businesses forward.”

Trish Etheridge from Central Bedfordshire Council, said:

“Following the positive results last year, we were so pleased to be able to run this scheme again. All of the councils are making substantial investments in superfast broadband across their regions, but we need to ensure we also give people the support they need to maximise the opportunities that this new technology will bring them. With more and more women starting up their own businesses, we need to ensure that they have the support and guidance they need to succeed.”

To find out more about Wenta and the business start-up services available to you, visit www.wenta.co.uk