The entrepreneurial potential of women constitutes an underdeveloped source of economic growth and of new jobs. They represent, on average, 30 per cent of entrepreneurs in the European Union but often face greater difficulties than men in starting up businesses and in accessing finance and training.

The European Journalism Centre and the Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry of the European Commission will organise a one-day press seminar on 5 October in Stockholm introducing to EU journalists the new European Network of Female Entrepreneurship Ambassadors, whose goal is to boost the rate of women business activity across Europe.

The "Ambassadors" will share their experiences of becoming and being a businesswoman at promotional events and act as role models to inspire women to become entrepreneurs.

This network will be formally launched within the annual conference of the European Charter for Small Enterprises that promotes a SME-friendly policy in Europe.

This year’s conference marks the transition from the Charter which has highlighted EU’s commitment to supporting SMEs since June 2000, to the Small Business Act, EU’s new comprehensive SME policy document adopted in 2008.

Business organisations and policy makers will have the opportunity to exchange and discuss good practices on how to improve the business environment for SMEs.

The six workshops of the Stockholm conference include one on “Fostering Women’s Entrepreneurship”, chaired by the Swedish Presidency of the European Union, that will include five presentations on national good practices projects taking place in Germany, Norway, Ireland, Italy and United Kingdom.

There are 23 million SMEs in Europe with an average size of 5 persons. They represent 2/3 of the total employment (that is more than 100 million jobs) and 99,8 per cent of all enterprises.

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