A new hub to support and showcase women-owned businesses has been launched by the NSW government, with a $190,000 investment.
With the aim of making it easier for women business owners to connect and explore new opportunities, the government is investing in the Entrepreneurial & Small Businesswoman Australia (EBSWA) to develop the Women-Owned Enterprises Australia Supplier Network.
Compared to men, women are currently under-represented in small business, often due to a lack of access to finance and formal networks.
The 2021 Census shows approximately 34 per cent of NSW small business owners are women. In comparison, 66 per cent of the state’s small business owners are men.
Research has also shown that increasing the proportion of small businesses owned by women supports economic growth and social progress.
The new Supplier Network will be a space for women-owned enterprises to match on the database with commercial business or NSW Government tenders under $3 million. The goal is to have 3,000 women on the database in three years to increase visibility and opportunities for their businesses.
“Many women have fantastic business ideas, and just need a bit of a boost to turn them into something more,” said Minister for Women Jodie Harrison.
“This new hub is a great way to connect women-owned and led businesses with NSW government tenders, so that we can use our buying power to really boost women’s opportunity. “It’s not only good for women, but also great for our economy by increasing the diversity of suppliers.”
To support women in seizing the opportunities, EBSWA will also run industry-specific procurement-readiness workshops to address existing knowledge barriers and a small business summit to help women connect and learn from each other.
“ESBWA is funded through a range of sources across government, corporate and project-based partnerships. Women Owned Enterprises (WOE) operates as a dedicated brand of ESBWA and the NSW Government is currently supporting the Women Owned Enterprises project in New South Wales,” said the founder and CEO of EBSWA Amanda Rose.
“The core goal of ESBWA is to represent and advocate for women in business and entrepreneurship across Australia, ensuring women are visible, influential and economically powerful within policy, industry and enterprise.”
“This is not just an announcement, it is the establishment of infrastructure. For the first time in Australia, there is a coordinated mechanism to identify, verify, prepare and actively connect women-owned enterprises into procurement supply chains.”