Tribal - Sowing the seeds of enterprise in our communities

Sowing the seeds of enterprise in our communities - the feminine way

SEED Women into Enterprise programme

When the ‘National Strategic Framework for Women’s Enterprise’ was launched in 2003 by the DTI’s Small Business Service, the aim was to create an environment that encourages more women to start and grow businesses, and in which every woman with the desire to start and run a business has access to appropriate help and support. Women into Enterprise offers a complete package of such support.

What is Women into Enterprise?
Women into Enterprise: the feminine way to create business is a set of resources recently developed by Tribal in collaboration with businesswoman and author, Lynne Franks. They draw from Lynne’s exciting SEED programme that enables women to explore who they are as individuals, to develop their talents, and to create and set up an enterprise of their own that is in tune with their feminine values.

The resources comprise a printed a workbook and CD. The content builds on Lynne’s Franks’ approach in . SEED is an acronym for Sustainable Enterprise and Empowerment Dynamics. To find out more about Lynne, the SEED vision and the network of women who have succeeded in setting up successful enterprises, visit:

‘Women are under-represented among the UK’s business owners. This means that there are many women in the UK who could be obtaining all the benefits that would come from running their own business but it also means that there is a very real loss to the UK economy. The UK, and its regions, are missing out on a major resource.’

Promoting Female Entrepreneurship
Small Business Service,
Department for Trade and Industry

Women into Enterprise workbook
The content of Women into Enterprise is mapped to Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative (SFEDI) standards.

There are six units in the workbook:

Unit 1: Life planning – clearing the ground
Unit 2: Finding the entrepreneur within – sowing the seeds
Unit 3: Values, ethics and sustainability – making a difference
Unit 4: The financial picture – nurturing growth
Unit 5: Networking and marketing – your SEED community
Unit 6: Launching your business – picking the blooms.

You can click on the six thumbnails on this page to have a taster of each the six units.

The CD provides information and guidance on feminine business start-up in a lively and attractive way. The CD also contains a ‘Logbook’ that accompanies each unit in which users can write, save and print notes on their ideas and feelings as they work through the CD. The ‘Resources’ sections offer thought-provoking, interactive templates for users to print and complete on their own or with others, and the ‘User guide’ provides explanation of each of the six units.

Key features of the Women Into Enterprise Programme

Creative, holistic and dynamic.
Feminine-focused business start-up.
Empowers women entrepreneurs.
Contains distance and facilitated learning resources.
Flexible delivery.
Supports the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) Level 3: Introductory Certificate in Business Start-up; the CMI Level 3: Certificate in Business Start-up; the CMI Level 3: S/NVQ in Business start–up.
Skills for Life Level 2 literacy and numeracy.
Key Skills at Level 2: Communication, Application of number, Information Technology, Working with others, Problem solving, Improving own learning and Performance.
Between 30 and 210 guided learning hours for the Introductory Certificate or the Certificate programmes respectively, depending on the route chosen.
Designed to qualify for LSC funding