A business centre in Birmingham is being renovated so it can accommodate a dedicated enterprise hub for women.
Work on part of Southside Business Centre in Sparkbrook is expected to take six months to complete but, in the meantime, the hub is opening its doors in a virtual sense.
Women can now access tailored support services to help build the confidence and skills they need for business.
When it opens in the summer, the Women's Enterprise Hub will also offer office space, hot desks, meeting and training rooms and is being supported with European Regional Development Funding and the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP Growing Places Fund.
The contract to develop the hub has been awarded by Birmingham City Council to iSE, a business support organisation based in Digbeth, which has nurtured emerging and growing enterprises in the city for nearly 15 years.
Chief executive Sarah Crawley said: "Women have a tremendous natural capacity for enterprise, but tend not to believe in themselves as much as men.
"We are aiming to demonstrate through this Hub just what women, given appropriate support, can achieve."
Thomas Vale Construction won the tender to carry out the refurbishment work through the Constructing West Midlands Framework operated by Acivico, Birmingham City Council's design, construction and facilities management division.
