EMC consultant appointed as women’s enterprise ambassador

Kent businesswoman Gill Levett has been appointed a Women’s Enterprise Ambassador by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA).

Gill, a consultant with Maidstone-based EMC Management Consultants, has been recruited to act as a role-model for women and to promote the benefits of being in business. She will help raise the profile of women’s enterprise and its importance to the South East economy.

The network of South East Women’s Enterprise Ambassadors is part of a nationwide initiative launched last year by Minister for Culture, Creative Industries & Tourism, Margaret Hodge.

Ambassadors receive no payment for their work. However, their involvement offers them opportunities to influence women’s enterprise policy at local, regional and national level.

Gill, who lives in Southborough, launched her first business when she was just 21. By the time she sold it eight years later, it was the largest privately-owned sandwich manufacturer in London with a turnover of £1.5 million and a staff of 80.

She has since formed and run a number of other companies and was named Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2007 Crawley Business Awards. She joined EMC’s Maidstone team earlier this year.

She said: “For far too long women have been happy to leave entrepreneurship to men. But fortunately they are starting to embrace it in ever-increasing numbers. Women with children, in particular, have come to realise that the best way of combining motherhood with making money is to work for themselves.

“Over the last 20 years I have set up and sold successful businesses of my own while raising a family and know the benefits that can accrue from being your own boss. Now I have an opportunity to help and encourage others to do the same.”

To find out more about the Women’s Enterprise Network in the South East, visit www.womensenterprisesoutheast.co.uk