Female entrepreneurs from Birmingham’s creative sector have been passing on their commercial skills to the next generation of businesswomen.
Youngsters from Castle Vale School took part in the two-day pilot project with creative entrepreneurs including Lisa Meyer of Birmingham music promoters Capsule, Rosie Kay Dance Company founder Rosie Kay and Television Junction digital development producer Rebecca Cadwallader.
The event came before some of the businesswomen visiting the school jetted off to represent the region at the annual South By South West (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas.
The school project was organised by the Young People’s Enterprise Centre of Expertise (YPECOE) and the Women’s Business Development Agency (WBDA).
YPECOE is one of three Centres of Expertise set up by the Advantage West Midlands enterprise board to encourage entrepreneurial activity among groups with potential to improve economic growth in the region.
Over the two days, the Castle Vale year nine youngsters were given presentations from inspirational female entrepreneurs and had visits to the BCU School of Acting, IKON Gallery and Hippodrome.
Angela Maxwell, Advantage West Midlands board member, said: “The West Midlands has one of the most thriving creative sectors in the country and many of the most successful companies are run by women.
“This is the first of what we hope will be a series of workshops which will encourage young people to think about the possibilities of not only working in the creative industries but also of starting up in business.
“People like Rosie, Lisa and Rebecca are among the entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs in Birmingham who have turned creativity into successful businesses and we need the next generation to be following their lead.”
The three women have had a busy time recently as their firms continue to expand.
BAFTA-award winning Television Junction has launched a specialist digital division, In Cahoots, which has been developed in response to the company’s growth in the digital sector.
The new division will build on Television Junction’s existing multi-media offering for clients across the broadcast, corporate and education sectors and will provide consultancy and interactive communications such as web video and online learning tools.
Television Junction was among the West Midland creative businesses to attend the SXSW festival, along with Capsule, which used the opportunity to launch its Home Of Metal digital archive celebrating the West Midlands’ worldwide legacy in the heavy metal genre.
The launch featured Lemmy from Motorhead being interviewed by Kerrang! Radio presenter Johnny Doom.
Home of Metal aims to create a digital archive as well as heritage tours, exhibitions and ultimately a permanent collection dedicated to telling the story of the music and its West Midland birthplace.
