NatWest has launched Electra to unlock women's potential in the West of England.
The Electra network has been created to support women in business and bring together entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial women from across the West of England to lean in, connect and tackle challenges.
Launched in light of the NatWest Rose Review in May 2022, the network has kicked off by exploring key themes such as enterprise, funding and finance, and business support. The latest Rose Review found that during 2022 8,255 companies were established by women in the South West, a figure that has grown 10.7% in the past year and more than doubled since 2018.
Electra holds bi-monthly events to build its community in the West of England and help women in the region to come together and support one another. Events are powered by NatWest, TechSPARK, EngineSHED, Clockwise and Rocketmakers.
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Briony Phillips, chief marketing officer at Rocketmakers and host of Electra events said: "Electra events create a buzz like no other, the energy and enthusiasm are palpable and the events create a safe space to connect, celebrate achievements, and develop new awareness and understanding of important topics.
"Building this community in the West of England helps women from the region to come together and support one another. I’m looking forward to what we can achieve with our first full year of Electra events and would encourage anyone interested to reach out and get involved."
Elly Rowley, regional ecosystem manager at NatWest, added: "Electra is a group of awesome women, a combination of entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs, who come together to connect and fuel their passion to help women in business. The events are inspiring and energetic, working to overcome the challenges highlighted in the Rose Review in the West of England. With increasingly more women entering business, communities like these offer incredible role models and supports access to expertise within the region."
Electra has supported Amber Probyn and Hazel McShane, the founders of Peequal, a women’s urinal. The duo came up with the initial design while studying at the University of Bristol and the idea won them £15,000 from the institution’s start-up competition. Since graduating in 2021 they have toured UK festivals, gaining user feedback and tweaking their product.
They then raised a quarter of a million pounds in their first fundraise from investors including the co-founder of Monzo Bank.
Ms Probyn said: "Electra is a space that champions women in business and a space where you lift each other up! So many people have offered their help and guidance to me and my business. I’m very glad to be a part of it."
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