East End women graduate from entrepreneur school

More than a dozen young women are set to become East End entrepreneurs after graduating from a course teaching them how to start up their own businesses.

The 18 participants, from Tower Hamlets and Hackney, will celebrate completing the “Ladies Who L-EARN” course at a ceremony on Monday evening (Feb 18).

The three-month programme was run by You Make It, a consultancy set up to work with charities and businesses to tackle youth unemployment.

During the course, the women enjoyed being set up with business mentors, as well as taking part in work placements and participating in workshops led by successful entrepreneurs and city workers.

The graduation ceremony took place at the social enterprise and arts venue Rich Mix, in Bethnal Green Road, and the graduates were awarded certificates and spoke about their hopes for the future.

Tower Hamlets resident and founding director of You Make It, Asma Shah, said: “With the experience of setting up my company and developing and delivering the Ladies Who L-EARN pilot last year on a tiny shoestring budget, I can say with confidence that you only need a small amount of cash to get something new off the ground, and it is making use of the people you know that is what really gets it all going.”