STEAMhouse, Birmingham’s leading innovation hub, has further strengthened its commitment to entrepreneurship by striking up a new partnership with The 51% Club, an organisation dedicated to helping female founders scale.
Through this collaboration, STEAMhouse will provide The 51% Club members with a range of valuable resources and opportunities to aid their business growth, building on STEAMhouse’s record of supporting female founders. This will include the opportunity to claim funded places on the upcoming Innovation Methods and Mindsets Short Courses, being held at STEAMhouse throughout June and July.
Members will be able to complete individual courses or the full series. The courses cover a variety of topics essential for business growth, such as innovation, design thinking, creativity, customer focus, and product development.
In addition, The 51% Club will also host events and workshops throughout the year that provide members with a chance to access the Create Lab. Located at the Birmingham City University powered facility in central Birmingham, this co-working and digital space provides a collaborative environment to work, network, and access the latest digital tools and technologies.
STEAMhouse will also be home to a brand new podcast launching later this year, spotlighting ambitious female founders from across a range of industries. The new state-of-the-art podcast facilities opened earlier this month and boast the latest audio and visual recording equipment, an audio-optimised environment, experienced on-site technicians, and editing and production support.
Joanna Birch, Director of Innovation, Enterprise and Employability at STEAMhouse said:
“We are thrilled to partner with The 51% Club and support their mission to empower female founders. STEAMhouse is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive innovation ecosystem, and this partnership aligns perfectly with those values.
We’re dedicated to fuelling entrepreneurship and our new facilities, such as the Create Lab and the podcast studio, provide the perfect backdrop to see more women-led businesses thrive.”
The 51% Club launched in April as a free community that brings together female founders from across all industries and disciplines. In its first three weeks, over 200 female entrepreneurs have signed up to benefit from peer support, expert masterclasses, networking events, and more. The 51% Club equips women with the tools and resources they need to succeed and was founded by local entrepreneur, Tara Attfield-Tomes, who comments:
“Having spent over 10 years building and bootstrapping my own PR agency – EAST VILLAGE. – I understand the blood, sweat, and tears that go into making a business work. What strikes me is just how much of a challenge it is for women to succeed. Whilst PR can achieve so much, the reality is that raising brand awareness, reaching target customers, and becoming an industry thought-leader is a tiny piece of the puzzle.
The wider support network and ecosystem isn’t tailored to the needs – and challenges faced by – women. That’s why I set up The 51% Club, to bridge the gap in support, bring women together to embrace the power of community, and work towards unlocking that £250bn currently being left on the table as a result of under-funded women. I am so delighted that STEAMhouse shares this vision and has partnered with us!”
Tara was also recently named as co-chair of The Lifted Project, a data-driven initiative to increase the flow of capital to regional, high growth female founders. The five-year project, aligned with the Rose Review and Treasury, is one of the recommendations from the Government’s Women-Led High-Growth Taskforce and will focus on increasing investment that goes to female entrepreneurs.
If you’re a female founder and want to join The 51% Club, you can do so for free via The 51% Club website.
For more information about STEAMhouse contact [email protected]