October 6, 2023, by aczht

National launch of the Charter for Inclusive Entrepreneurship to help minimise barriers to business

Congratulations to Dr Lorna Treanor who celebrated the national launch of the Charter for inclusive entrepreneurship at the Shard, London on Thursday 5 October 2023, along with one of the Charter signatories, the Enterprise Research Centre (ERC). The Charter was developed by Lorna at the Haydn Green Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, part of Nottingham University Business School, and is aimed at supporting entrepreneurs of all backgrounds to start and grow their businesses.

What is the Charter for Inclusive Entrepreneurship

The Charter was created in partnership with colleagues from The Women’s Organisation, in collaboration with regional partners, including Nottingham Trent University and D2N2. Signatories to the Charter will demonstrate a clear commitment towards the development of an inclusive ecosystem that would support anyone wishing to start a successful and sustainable business, regardless of their personal characteristics or background.

More about the Charter from Dr Lorna Treanor

Lorna tells us why she decided to develop the charter and what she hopes it will achieve:

“I devised the Charter for inclusive entrepreneurship due to a simple belief that anyone wishing to start or grow a business, regardless of their personal characteristics or background, should have equitable access to appropriate education, training, advice, support and finance.

“Shockingly, recent news headlines highlighted that women founders in the tech sector only received 2% of AI investment funding, and this represents progress! Women are just as capable as men at identifying an entrepreneurial opportunity and exploiting it – be that in the tech sector or elsewhere. Yet, women remain less likely to receive funding due to gendered expectations around women’s roles, capabilities, responsibilities, risk profiles and ambitions which often inform bias. This can influence how investors, business advisors, potential suppliers and customers evaluate women entrepreneurs and their ventures.

“In an earlier report, Diversity in Research and Development Innovation, I highlighted such bias is not a problem confined to women. Sadly, entrepreneurs and innovators with disabilities face similar challenges, as do minority ethnic entrepreneurs, or those who are younger or older or in some other way deviate from the middle-aged, white, able-bodied, heterosexual male entrepreneurial norm (Treanor, 2021). This represents both an equality issue and a loss to the economy and productivity. However, developing a joined-up, partnership approach to create an inclusive ecosystem could improve the provision of service offerings and support greater uptake of services, thereby supporting diversity, inclusion and economic and social development.

“The recent news provided a timely reminder as to the need for, and rationale underpinning the development of the charter.”

Support your employees – become a signatory

Signatories focus on those aspects relevant to their business – which may be inclusive recruitment or diversifying their supply chains. They are asked to display their commitment through the use of the Chartermark ad to spread the word through customer and supplier networks. There is no fee associated with the Charter – it is a commitment to improving inclusive practices, not a symbol confirming excellent practice or expertise. The hope is that signatories will share their good practice and learning with others who may not know where to start, all within the safe space afforded by the Charter. Early signatories include East Midlands Chambers of Commerce, the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE), SFEDI Awards, the Neurodiversity and Entrepreneurship Association (NEA), as well as solo entrepreneurs, enterprise educators, social enterprises, through to large law firms such as Ampa.

Find out more about the Charter for inclusive entrepreneurship and express your interest in being a signatory.

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Google+
• Share on LinkedIn