Metro Bank’s Crawley store will be teaming up with Crawley Town Centre BID and Manor Royal BID to celebrate International Women’s Day by hosting a complimentary event (9-11am) for all local business women and female entrepreneurs on Tuesday March 7th with keynote speaker Julie Kapsalis, CEO and Principal of NESCOT college and chair of Coast to Capital LEP and guest speaker Sam Hilton Metro Bank Commercial Banking Director, as well as the Coast to Capital Growth Hub who will discuss the alternative funding options available.
Julie Kapsalis has worked in economic development for 20 years with a particular focus on enterprise, skills and social inclusion. Julie served as an advisor to the UK Government's task force on women's enterprise and has recently contributed to the Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship including developing the expert in residence programme and the pilot to gender disaggregate LEP data.
International Women's Day celebrates women's rights and inspires people to act in the ongoing fight for gender equality - this year’s theme is Embrace Equity.
“As a community bank and a signatory of the Investing in Women Code, we actively support women in business and we are looking to celebrate International Women’s Day in all our stores.” explains Abi Bowden, Crawley Metro Bank’s Local Director. “We’re committed to supporting women with access to tools, resources and finance and supporting them in the three key areas they struggle with namely networking, funding and mentoring.”
Steve Sawyer, Executive Director of Manor Royal BID said: “To be your best, you have let other people be their best. I want to be part of something where everyone feels comfortable, confident and able to fulfil their potential. I am delighted to be supporting this event to celebrate the achievements of local women in business and to learn how we can collectively tap into their potential to help make a success of all of us.”
“We are delighted to work with Metro Bank and Manor Royal Business District to deliver a new event to the town centre,” commented Wendy Bell, BID Manager, Crawley Town Centre BID. “Crawley is an incredibly diverse, successful and inclusive town and we are looking forward to celebrating and sharing this aspect of it with our guests. We are looking forward to seeing everyone there.”
The Crawley Metro Bank store is located at 25 Queens Square, Crawley RH10 1HA. The store is open Monday – Saturday: 8.30am - 6pm. Sunday: 11am - 5pm. Visitors are welcome and the store can open business and personal accounts with and without an appointment, as well as print cards in store for customers to use immediately.