A wonderfully WICED thing is being created in Liverpool by a team of
very dedicated women.  WICED (Women’s International Centre for
Economic Development) is a new entry onto the scene of women’s
entrepreneurship.  While it is currently housed with the Train2000
program, WICED will eventually be housed in its own incubator building
currently being designed just for their purposes.

I learned about WICED through its Executive Director, Maggie
O’Carroll, also the Director of Train2000.   Maggie and her team put
together a funding package from WICED, the North West Development
Agency, Future Builders, Train 2000, Liverpool Vision and Liverpool
Council.  Maggie describes the emerging program as, “the hub of  
international research on female entrepreneurship as well as providing  
a range of enterprise support including space for up to 80 business  
units to help women start and grow their businesses.”

I had the great good fortune to be part of a day on which the WICED
women convened a group of experts on female enterprise from across the
world.  Our group included academics, entrepreneurs, and policy folks
to brainstorm about the research, programs, and infrastructure that
will make up most of WICED.  That combination is just one of the
things that will make WICED impactful.  The group intends to conduct
and facilitate research to help us ask questions that will make a
difference for women entrepreneurs, their businesses, and their
communities, and then to ultimately arrive at effective and actionable
answers.

Another great part of the day was to meet more members of the WICED
team. We got to hear from the architect, Katy Health of Nightingale
Associates, about designing the WICED building.  We were trying to
figure out if any other building in the world had been designed and
built from scratch as a symbol of women’s creativity and
entrepreneurship.  This is an incredibly exciting prospect and one
from which we should all learn.   We also were able to meet Councilor
Flo Clucas, Executive Member and Deputy Leader of the Liverpool City
Council whose responsibilities include Economic Development and
Europe.  Flo is a great example of a policy maker who actually
understands the potential contribution of entrepreneurship to economic
development, and the type of timetable and investment it takes to
achieve that contribution.

And finally, if you do get to Liverpool (and you should), make a point
of having dinner at the Sidedoor Restaurant (www.thesidedoor.co.uk),
owned by one of the local woman  entrepreneurs.  You won’t be sorry. Have a glass of champagne and toast the future of WICED.

Submitted by: Patti Greene