The founder of the UK’s most successful food and wellness brands in recent years has been announced as the headline speaker at Women in Business’s Female Entrepreneurs Conference.
Ella Mills, the name behind Deliciously Ella, will be one of a range of female entrepreneurs to take to the stage to share their business journey, along with Sonya Lennon (Work Equal), Jennifer Neff and Leeann Monk-Ozgul (Elemental) and Ailbhe Keane (Izzy Wheels).
Taking place on 11 th October, the conference will welcome 400 attendees across two venues; the Titanic Belfast and the Dublin’s Gibson Hotel.
The event will share insights and signpost opportunities that will support women in overcoming gender disparity in the seeding, development and scaling up of businesses with recent data* revealing that £250bn could be added to the UK economy if women were to start and scale businesses at the same rate as men.
“Consistency is critical to me, especially as our business grew. I had to be across so many elements, 24/7, 365 days a year, there’s a relentlessness to owning your own business that people don’t talk about enough and the only way to grow is to continue to put everything you have into what you’re doing every day,” Ella Mills said. “I am looking forward to sharing my entrepreneurial journey to inspire women across Ireland and to help shape the future of their businesses.”
The conference is being hosted by Sarah Travers in Belfast and Norah Casey in Dublin and is sponsored by Intertrade Ireland and the Yes You Can female enterprise support programme. Six winners of the Yes You Can pitching competition will pitch live in Belfast at the conference and the winner as voted by the audience will receive an additional £2,000 for their business idea. Associate sponsors include Enterprise Ireland, Glandore, Innovate UK, IQ&Co and the British Business Bank.
“I am delighted that Women in Business is celebrating entrepreneurial role models across the island and leading the discussion on the opportunities and challenges that female entrepreneurs face when scaling their businesses,” Lorraine Acheson, Managing Director of Women in Business, said. “We will hear from an eclectic mix of trailblazers and rising business start-ups on how they are doing it their way.
“Building on the success of last year’s hybrid event, the 2022 All-Island Female Entrepreneurs Conference is an opportunity to profile rising entrepreneurs from all over Ireland and signpost female-focused policies, programmes and funding that will help achieve equity and deliver meaningful, long-term change for the next generation of self-starters.”
