Small business support group Enterprise Nation is to head west again to stage its flagship female-focused event, the Festival of Female Entrepreneurs.
The event, the largest of its kind in the UK, has been held in Bristol since it was launched six years ago.
Taking place this year on October 20, it will attract women self-starters from across Britain for a day-long annual event to help them build and grow businesses. 
The festival will hear from inspiring speakers including Edwina Dunn, the woman behind the run-away success of the Tesco loyalty card who changed the way we shop through data, Aron Gelbard, founder of disruptive letterbox flower delivery service Bloom and Wild, and Rob Law, the Bristol-based inventor of children’s ride-on suitcase Trunki.
Enterprise Nation founder Emma Jones, pictured at last year’s Festival, said: “This event is a celebration of all the talented women out there who are starting and running world-class businesses across Britain – however, they are still in the minority.
“But we are moving in the right direction and more women than ever before are busy turning their dreams into entrepreneurial reality. They are taking risks, overcoming gender barriers and changing their lives for good through enterprise.
“They are challenging themselves at every turn and the Festival of Female Entrepreneurs will help them find inspiration, network and pick up new skills and ideas to take them to the next level.”
The event will be held in the newly-opened Bristol Harbour Hotel and Spa, and also include keynote speeches from Max and Nina Leykind, make-up veterans and co-founders of Eyeko London, Mel Bound, founder of Bristol-based national running group This Mum Runs and Enterprise Nation's 2016 Female Start-up of the Year winner, and Helen Wooldridge, founder of global baby towel innovator Cuddledry.
Details of the festival were announced on Wednesday, International Women’s Day, and against a backdrop of a significant gender gap when it comes to people starting businesses. New data shows that just a fifth of Britain’s 5.4m small businesses were started by women.
Enterprise Nation is working with the Facebook She Means Business campaign to educate 10,000 women in digital skills in 2017, helping to turn this figure around.
As part of that effort the Female Start-Up of the year award, which takes place at the event, will be powered by Facebook She Means Business, with the chance to win business boosting prizes.
Enterprise Nation was founded in 2005 by Emma Jones MBE , also co-founder of national enterprise campaign StartUp Britain, and is a growing small business network and business support provider with more than 70,000 members. Its aim is to help people turn their good ideas into great businesses – through expert advice, events, acceleration and networking.
For more details and tickets go to www.enterprisenation.com/festival
