Tim Allan

Mr Allan, owner of Tricorn Capital, chair of V&A Dundee and president of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, is investing £20,000 in the social enterprise which supports women on their business journey, empowering them to achieve their goals, whether big or small.

Women’s Business Station has an ambitious, 10-year plan to enhance the socio-economic empowerment of 10,000 women in Scotland by 2030.

Launching in September 2021, the new ‘Aspiring Women’ programme will specifically target hard-to-reach audiences, including BAME communities, who suffer from hardship and disadvantage but aspire to be in a better situation.

With the pilot focused on the Dundee community, the free programme will take 12 women on a 20-week journey from self-belief and mindset to enterprise and business skills. The programme will then extend into Perthshire, Angus and Fife.

Mr Allan said: “Women’s Business Station has been doing outstanding work and has a proven track record of creating real impact amongst women setting up in business. However, there are many others who need our support.

“Covid has disrupted society and our lifestyles for almost 18 months and those most affected are those least able to deal with it, often lacking the resources or capacity to be resilient. The launch of Aspiring Women therefore couldn’t be more timely.

“Aspiring Women will increase capacity amongst the lesser-served parts of society. By reaching out to women who perhaps don’t have the experience, confidence, self-belief or autonomy to achieve what they want, we can really make a difference, empowering them to move onwards.”

Mr Allan also believes other businesses and individuals should strongly consider investing in Women’s Business Station, believing that ‘investing in people is one of the best investments you can make.’

He added: “People who have been fortunate enough to have had some success in business and seek to help their local communities are always looking for maximum return on their investment. Women’s Business Station delivers real impact and outcomes which benefit our wider society and for me, that’s worth investing in. There’s a duty on all of us not to leave anyone behind and, if you’ve got the resources and tools to do something to help, I feel strongly that you should.

“I’m delighted to see Aspiring Women launch in Dundee, a city with an extraordinary sense of common purpose. We seem to understand each other and the need to support each other – we can do and achieve things here which can’t be done elsewhere.

“If we can encourage people to expect more from their society, their community and themselves and then see the results, it becomes a virtuous cycle. Essentially, if we can help people believe in better, they will get better, become more effective contributors to our society and leaders in their community. Yes, they might already be doing that but perhaps haven’t got the skills, capacity or confidence to drive it forwards.”

Social Sponsor is a term Women’s Business Station has created to spotlight the social impact generated by a financial contribution. In return for a minimum investment of £2,000, Social Sponsors will receive an annual social impact report highlighting their social return on investment (SROI).

Angie De Vos, CEO, Women’s Business Station, hopes Tim will be the first of many. She commented: “I am delighted to officially announce Tim Allan as Women’s Business Station’s founding Social Sponsor. Tim’s generous investment of £20,000 will allow us to launch this new Aspiring Women programme and we hope Tim will be the first of many social sponsors to support us by investing in people.

“This programme is a local game changer. Unlike most entrepreneurial programmes, this one is aimed at mums, grannies, aunties, nieces and women who are stuck in a rut of generational and/or work poverty. It is packed with empowering content, local support, tools, and action-based activities that will awaken and inspire positive change. I cannot emphasis the significance of Tim’s investment enough, it will raise ambition and create equality of opportunity for local Aspiring Women.”