International Women's Day House of Lords reception date for Swindon entrepreneur

The founder of Swindon businesses Rays Ice Cream and My Business Buddy attended a special International Women’s Day reception at the House of Lords.

Hadi Brooks was among women invited to be recognised for their strong contribution to entrepreneurship.

The event put the spotlight on over 100 impressive, multi-achieving female business owners being championed by Small Business Britain’s ƒ:Entrepreneur #ialso100 campaign.

The campaign showcases the contribution to society, the economy and communities that many female founders are making across the country.

Hadi was named an ƒ:Entrepreneur #ialso100 in recognition of her inspiring entrepreneurial journey, which has involved running a business alongside a roster of other responsibilities. 

She founded and runs both Rays Ice Cream and My Business Buddy - a specialist mentoring organisation - alongside a busy life of being a wife and mum.

Hadi enjoyed afternoon tea and networking in Westminster, meeting peers from ƒ:Entrepreneur #ialso cohorts from both 2021 and 2022, as well as the special guest speaker, Labour MP Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, who paid tribute to the power of female entrepreneurship.

Hadi said: "It was such an inspirational event. Working life has become more isolated over the last couple of years and it was just wonderful to get out and to spend time with such amazing women from across the country."

Delivered by Small Business Britain – a champion of small businesses in the UK - f:Entrepreneur campaign was launched in 2017 to highlight the stories of amazing female business owners and help provide inspiration and role models across the wider small business community. 

Now in its fifth year, the campaign offer events, training and networking opportunities to boost skills, capability and confidence.

This comes on the back of new research carried out by the campaign this month which found that following the pandemic, nearly a fifth of women are considering entrepreneurship, with 44 percent of them citing pursuing a passion as a key motivator, alongside 46 percent wanting greater flexibility.

"Being in a room full of such impressive female founders such as Hadi Brooks was really uplifting, especially after a tough couple of years for entrepreneurs," said Michelle Ovens CBE, Founder of Small Business Britain and the ƒ:Entrepreneur campaign.

"To hear all the incredible things that these women do and the impact they are making, not just in their businesses but in their wider communities, is truly inspiring, and underlines that we must do everything we can to support them. This profound desire among women to create opportunity out of their passions, to build businesses with mission and purpose at their hearts, and to drive forward success, despite everything thrown at them during this pandemic, is amazingly powerful. We must nurture female entrepreneurship so it continues to flourish in the UK and plays a key role in recovery."

The full line-up of women featured in this year’s f:entrepreneur #ialso100 campaign can be found at https://f-entrepreneur.com/ialso-100-2022/