07 Mar Essex business woman wins NatWest nationwide entrepreneurship title
In honour of International Women’s Day on Tuesday 8th March, eco-champion and Ashwells Reclaimed Timber business owner Janine Davies-Tutt has been named as one of fifteen winners of NatWest’s #BeTheRoleModel competition, a nationwide campaign to tackle stereotypes of female founders and help create a more inclusive visual landscape that shows entrepreneurs as they really are.
NatWest received more than 3,000 nominations from SMEs across the UK but were bowled away by the success Janine has achieved over the past 30 years – through her business, Essex based Ashwells Reclaimed Timber – reclaiming tropical hardwoods and preventing further deforestation. Judges also applauded Ashwells work as founding members of SALVO UK, and their sustained action to educate and empower the landscape design & construction sector to increase the use of reclaimed building materials within garden and external design projects.
Margaret Jobling, chief marketing officer at NatWest, says: “Every entrant had a brilliant story to tell about why their business was extraordinary, and we saw a real breadth of sectors and industries taking part. Arriving at our winners was a really tough process, but we’re so excited to partner with these 15 businesses to create impactful ads that will help their brands thrive, as well as offering them support and expertise through our Enterprise programme to help them take their business to the next level. Congratulations to all our winners.”
Janine Davies-Tutt said: “I’m incredibly excited to have been chosen as one of 15 winners in NatWest’s female entrepreneur competition. Reclamation and construction remain heavily dominated male industries. I hope that by sharing my story of Ashwells Timber we’ll help demonstrate the diversity of female-led businesses in the UK and encourage more women to smash stereotypes and believe that they can make it as business owners. Role models are the key to encouraging more women to start up in business, and my advice to women considering running their own business would be to find your voice!”
International Women’s Day is global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, and is dedicated to promoting equality. This year, the theme is #BreakTheBias.
