Press release 31 March 2008
Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications

880 ambassadors for Women´s Enterprise have been elected

Inspired by the UK Women´s Enterprise Task Force (WETF) the Swedish government started an initiative to elect ambassadors for Women´s Enterprise.

Today, the minister for Enterprise and Energy Maud Olofsson presented the names of 880 ambassadors for women´s enterprise. They have been chosen to encourage women and girls across the country to start and run businesses. The aim is also to increase the knowledge of enterprising, to make women who run businesses more visible and enable for women and girls to see enterprising as an option.

Minister for Enterprise and Energy said:
"I am impressed by the engagement among our women entrepreneurs, and that there are so many who want to contribute in the making of a more enterprising Sweden. We know that the presence of role models act as an inspiration for many considering starting a business, therefore I hope that the ambassadors will be an inspiration to many".

The ambassadors come from all parts of Sweden and represent a wide variety of branches. The ambassadors role is to inspire women by sharing their stories and experiences as entrepreneurs. Each ambassador is encouraged to at least four times a year speak in schools, universities, different networks a s o.

A total of 1600 persons have reported an interest in participating. The national coordinator Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth (Nutek) led the selection process. See the list of ambassadors on the governments webpage www.regeringen.se/naring

Today about a quarter of all companies in Sweden are run by women, and women accounted for 35 per cent of new business starters in 2006. Despite some progress the recent years women still are under represented in terms of participation in enterprise. The Government´s aim is for women to account for at least 40 per cent of all new business starters by 2010.

The Swedish Government´s policy to promote women´s enterprise:
It has to be easy, enjoyable and profitable to run a business in Sweden. This is why the Government wants Sweden to have a world class business climate.