Brussels, 08/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 8 December, the European Commission launched the second phase of the European Network of Female Entrepreneurship Ambassadors, an initiative which began in 2009 to promote female entrepreneurship and encourage women to set up their own businesses.
With figures demonstrating that women make up just 34.4% of the EU's self-employed workforce, the potential for more women-led businesses is huge and must be encouraged. That 39.4% of women would choose to be self-employed, compared to 50.2% of men, shows that women are more reluctant to become entrepreneurs. Studies show that, as a general rule, women create smaller but relatively more viable enterprises. Women are also considered more cautious than men and are more aware of the risk of failure. The EU Ambassadors help to overcome these doubts, and seek to encourage and inspire women to become entrepreneurs by relating their own experiences. The Female Entrepreneurship Ambassadors, who initially numbered around 150 from 10 European countries (Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden), were joined on Wednesday by 100 women from 12 new countries (Albania, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Serbia and United Kingdom). The next step for The European Network of Female Entrepreneurship is to create a network of mentors in 2011 to provide an increased level of support for women entrepreneurs. (E.H./transl.rt)