Advancing Female Entrepreneurs and Small Business Success

According to Harvard Business Review, women-led start-ups obtained only 2.3 per cent of Venture Capital funding in 2020, while accounting for 99 per cent of the world’s business population. This is especially concerning in today’s business environment, as small business growth is critical to the economy’s recovery.

Cisco’s 2021 Web Summit theme is “Powering a More Inclusive Future for All.”

Our mission at Cisco is to enable a more inclusive future for everyone. We want to be a part of solving this challenge since ensuring equitable access to opportunities for all is in our DNA.

Cisco recently visited Web Summit, a global gathering of people and businesses at the crossroads of technology, people, and culture. Attendees are still looking for new methods to reimagine business and the global technology industry while also promoting diversity and inclusion. With our focus on hybrid work, Cisco contributed to this discussion and highlighted that by bringing individuals together from all over the world, we can bring more voices to the table and be more inclusive.

I was particularly ecstatic to see the increasing number of female speakers at this year’s event, and I had the privilege of being a part of the wonderful lineup. Cisco organized a Masterclass Session where we heard from female founders and learned about the challenges of building successful lifestyle brands. Hannah Mitchell, CEO and Founder of mywimble.com and Hayze Bridal, and Bianca Bridges, CEO and Founder of Breakfast London and Sweathouse shared their experiences, thoughts, and tips with the audience.

Hannah Mitchell, CEO and Founder of mywimble.com and Hayze Bridal

Hannah and Bianca discussed how they got to where they are today by combining technology with their grit and entrepreneurial drive. Attendees appreciated the opportunity to network with like-minded entrepreneurs, were motivated to take new and daring actions with their businesses and met accountability partners to add to their personal network to help them stay on track with their goals.

On November 19th, for Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, I’m looking forward to seeing how our impact and commitments will continue as guests reconnect with their new accountability partners.

More information regarding Cisco’s participation in Web Summit can be found here.

Bianca Bridges, CEO and Founder of Breakfast London and Sweathouse

Cisco is a large corporation that values small enterprises. Our purpose is to provide every small company owner with the help and tools they need to succeed – in a way that is reasonable, accessible, and simple for everyone.

Our Cisco Small Business portfolio, which is tailored exclusively for small businesses around the world, is one example of this. Beyond our game-changing technology, we’re committed to getting close to small businesses, learning everything we can about the ever-changing small company market, and empathizing with the people behind the brands that are changing the world one step at a time.

Over the last few years, our lives and fortunes have altered dramatically. Small companies’ perseverance and resourcefulness in keeping our economy, towns, and world going never cease to surprise me. Together, we can create a path beyond recovery and into growth, ensuring that we all benefit from a more inclusive future.