Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage and Jacqueline Gold CBE will jointly host an event at Bridgemary School in Gosport next week, to inspire and encourage schoolgirls to become Enterprising Women.
Jacqueline Gold is chief executive of Ann Summers and Knickerbox - with over 140 stores nationwide she is one of Britain's leading businesswomen. Jacqueline is renowned for managing a company by women, for women and in January 2015 she was awarded a CBE for services to Entrepreneurship, Women in Business and Social Enterprise.
Girls from Year 9 at Gosport Schools, Bridgemary and Brune Park, will take part in the half day event on 1st February. In an 'Apprentice meets Dragons Den' style challenge the girls will be tasked with formulating business plan ideas for a new Gosport enterprise with the help of some inspiring mentors.
Jacqueline and Caroline will be joined by a host of successful business and career women from across the local area who will provide mentoring support and advice for the girls throughout the event. These include: Lulu Whitmore, who runs local events management company 'Love Southsea'; Commander Sophie Shaugnessy, the most senior female Engineer in the Royal Navy who is based at HMS Sultan; and Melanie Lawson, founder of Brighton based company, Bare Biology.
Speaking about the event, MP Caroline, who spent almost two decades running her own local business before entering politics, said:
"I really want girls in Gosport to explore all career opportunities available to them and have the confidence to get involved in enterprise and entrepreneurship. Successful women come from all sorts of backgrounds and overcome many obstacles. I hope that hearing from Jacqueline Gold, a world-class entrepreneur, as well as some of the brilliant career women on our own doorstep, will inspire and encourage the next generation of Enterprising Women."
Jacqueline Gold added:
"I am delighted to be attending the Enterprising Women event, which I hope will inspire the girls to become the entrepreneurs of the future. Running your own business is hugely rewarding, and I hope that the girls of Bridgemary and Brune Park schools see that with self-belief, courage, hard work and determination a good idea can become a great business. The girls will be incredibly lucky to have access to some wonderful entrepreneurs and business woman from their local area, I hope they are inspired by all these women have achieved and it allows them to realise that anything is possible."
