Elevator Asks: ‘What’s Stopping You?’

Elevator has announced the launch of a new initiative supported by Royal Bank of Scotland to support women-led businesses.

Elevator will play an integral role to connect with women across Grampian and Tayside and pose the question ‘What’s Stopping You?’. The 12-month project will act as a springboard for women across the north east to access Royal Bank of Scotland’s crowdfunding programme, Back Her Business.

Led by Royal Bank and developed in partnership with Crowdfunder, Back Her Business has been designed to help women raise money for their concept or idea through crowdfunding. The partnership pledges to match funds of up to 50% towards an approved project’s crowdfunding target, with up to a maximum of £5,000.

In 2019, the Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship found that only one in three UK entrepreneurs are women. Led by Royal Bank CEO Alison Rose, it revealed the barriers women face when it comes to setting up an independent business. 

Elevator’s initiative aims to support women across the region in order to identify and remove any potential barriers which come with starting or running a business. Consequently, the team will help them register for Back Her Business to access support and reward-based funding.   

Cat Ward, Programme Lead at Elevator, said: “We know the importance of changing mindset. One challenge – ‘imposter syndrome’ – has already come to the forefront following the Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship. Many women listen to the voice of doubt in their head; the one which tells them they’re not good enough, haven’t got what it takes and are going to fail.

“At Elevator, we believe that understanding these barriers is the first step in delivering support that works. ‘What’s Stopping You?’ is an initiative to lay down the challenge, provide the encouragement and remove the barriers for women embarking on their entrepreneurial journey. It will shine a light on the pathway to Back Her Business.”

Emma Miller, Business Growth Enabler, Royal Bank of Scotland, said: “The Rose Review, the Royal Bank Global Entrepreneurship Monitor and Enterprise Tracker brought into focus the barriers female entrepreneurs face when considering starting up in business. Feedback from the surveys revealed fears around a lack of appropriate finance and a need for mentoring, supportive role models, relevant local support and tailored advice. With Back Her Business, we want to tackle this head on. It will offer financial support to help businesses get off the ground but by using the bank’s Entrepreneur Accelerator programme, its Women in Business proposition and its industry experts, the initiative offers bespoke training and coaching, networking opportunities and local events to help concepts reach the market and grow.

“As the local Business Growth Enabler and one of the bank’s Women in Business accredited practitioners, I see the challenges women and female led firms face on a daily basis. That’s why I host workshops and financial training classes and offer one-to-one support to give practical skills and hopefully the confidence required to help people take their idea or business to the next level.

“We are delighted to be partnering with Elevator on the ‘What’s Stopping You?’ campaign to run in conjunction with the Back Her Business initiative.”