Outbox incubates nextgen female entrepreneurs
On Monday 27th July 2015, Outbox Incubator hosted its inaugural open day. A first of its kind incubator for girls and young women with STEM startup ideas, Outbox Incubator is supporting 45 girls a day via intensive mentoring and support for six weeks, all under one roof in London. In the house, the girls get the opportunity to turn their ideas into reality and taking early-stage startups to the next stage of development with the opportunity to gain investment along the way. Funded by the Salesforce Foundation, Outbox Incubator is run in partnership with Stemettes. The six week course teaches the fundamentals of personal development, marketing, business development, pitching for investment, funding, business planning and cash flow accounting.
The inaugural programme was opened by Donatus Anyanwu, Mayor of the London Borough of Lambeth with welcome speeches by Anne-Marie Imafidon, Head Stemette, Charlotte Finn, Head of Salesforce Foundation and Will Coleman, Developer Relations, EMEA, Salesforce.
BCSWomen, part of the Chartered Institute of IT, are supporting the initiative which is aimed at inspiring the next generation of female STEM entrepreneurs to launch their own STEM business ideas. Professor Cornelia Boldyreff, a member of BCSWomen who visited the house where the programme is taking place and met with the girls and young women just 3 days into the programme adds: “These girls and young women represent the future women in STEM and the future is in good hands. It was a privilege to tell them my “herstory” how I’ve made my career in software engineering and to hear their stories and plans for the future.”
Nela Brown, a member of BCSWomen who is acting as a mentor for the programme says: “BCSWomen are delighted to be involved with such a great project encouraging girls and young women to turn their ideas into products and form tech companies with the help from industry mentors."
Genevieve Hibbs (BS MPH PhD FCybs MBCS MFSB), a member of BCSWomen also visiting the programme says: “When I met these knowledgeable and enthusiastic young people I was reminded that I was more than twice the age of the oldest when I had my first desktop computer in 1980. The incubator is a fabulous opportunity for these girls. I take my hat off to those who are organising it all. I talked with two girls aged thirteen who had entrepreneurial plans; they were already making them realistic - how exciting.”
Participants in the project are between the ages of 11 - 22 and are at varying stages of experience and knowledge in STEM exploration. Many have achieved recognition for their achievements and some of the awards they have won to date include: the EU Young Scientist of the year, Google Science Fair, BT Young Scientist of the Year, The British Science Association Big Bang Fair Award.
For further information or to get involved visit www.outboxincubator.com
