Prowess Connect is the peer network for anyone passionate about supporting women in business and committed to driving positive change across the UK. Run by Prowess, the long-standing advocate for female entrepreneurship, it brings together business owners, enterprise advisers, mentors, campaigners and local support organisations who want to share knowledge, amplify their impact and work collectively for a fairer business environment.
The network is built on a simple idea: no single organisation can remove every barrier that women entrepreneurs face, but by connecting people with different skills, experience and local insight, we can achieve far more together than we can alone. Whether you are running a women’s business group, delivering start-up support, or building a company yourself, Prowess Connect offers a space to exchange ideas, find collaborators and turn shared concerns into practical action.
Why a women in business network matters
Women-led businesses make a substantial contribution to the UK economy. The Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship estimates that women-led SMEs contribute around £85 billion to economic output, and the number of all-female-founded businesses has grown significantly in recent years. Despite this progress, women still start and scale businesses at lower rates than men, receive a disproportionately small share of venture and growth capital, and are more likely to cite caring responsibilities, confidence gaps and limited access to networks as barriers to growth.
These challenges are not evenly spread. Regional disparities persist, with women in some parts of the country far less likely to access finance, training or peer support than those in major cities. Groups such as single parents, women returning after redundancy or career breaks, social entrepreneurs and mothers running businesses around family life often face additional hurdles. A dedicated women in business network helps to surface these issues, share what works and campaign for change at both local and national level.
What Prowess Connect offers
Prowess Connect is an open, friendly and action-oriented community. There is no membership fee; the only requirement is a genuine commitment to supporting women in business. Members connect through online discussions, virtual meetings and occasional in-person events, depending on demand and location.
The network covers a wide range of interests and specialisms, reflecting the diversity of women’s enterprise in the UK. Common themes include:
- Social entrepreneurship and mission-led business
- Support for single parents and women balancing work with caring responsibilities
- Mothers in business and flexible, family-friendly enterprise models
- Redundancy, career transitions and returning to work
- Access to funding, finance and investment readiness
- Regional enterprise support and local networking
By pooling experience across these areas, members can spot opportunities to collaborate on bids, training programmes, events, research and campaigns. Past collaborations have included joint funding applications, shared workshops and local partnership-building, all designed to improve the support available to women entrepreneurs.
Who can join
Prowess Connect is not exclusive. It is open to anyone who shares its core aims:
- Providing high-quality, accessible support to women starting and growing businesses
- Campaigning for a better deal for women entrepreneurs locally and nationally
- Encouraging government, funders and business bodies to back initiatives that genuinely help women in business
Members include established business owners, social entrepreneurs, trainers, coaches, local authority officers, representatives of business support organisations and women’s enterprise groups. The more energy, perspective and expertise the network attracts, the stronger its collective voice becomes.
How to get involved
If you would like to join Prowess Connect, or simply find out more about how the network operates, the best next step is to get in touch with Prowess directly. You can sign up to the Prowess newsletter for updates on network meetings, campaigns and opportunities to collaborate, or follow Prowess on social media to join the wider conversation about women in business in the UK.
Whether you want to share your expertise, find partners for a project, or help shape the future of women’s enterprise support, Prowess Connect offers a practical, supportive route to making a bigger impact. If you believe that women entrepreneurs deserve better networks, better funding and better representation, you are very welcome to be part of it.
