LIVERPOOL women’s enterprise centre, Train 2000, has unveiled the first images of its proposed £5.3m Women’s International Centre for Economic Development (WICED).
The organisation aims to unveil the new development in the city centre next year within the Baltic Triangle area, on the corner ofŠ St James Street and Norfolk Street.
WICED will be the hub of international research on female entrepreneurship and will also provide a range of enterprise support services, including space for up to 80 business units, to help women start and grow their own businesses.
The 2,000 sq m centre aims to “break the gender gap” in starting businesses, and is expected to help 3,000 women set up businesses over the next 10 years, leading to the creation of 4,500 new jobs.
Initiatives planned for the centre by Train 2000 and the WICED team have already been hailed as “among the best I’ve ever seen”Š by Prof Patricia Greene, of Babson College, USA, who is acknowledged as one of the world’s leading experts on women’s enterprise.
Prof Greene visited Liverpool to review the plans in May this year.
Train 2000 director Maggie O’Carroll said: “We are creating the most advanced centre for women’s entrepreneurship and economic development in the world, right here in Liverpool.
“It will connect to a global network helping to create the conditions for more sustainable and high growth women’s businesses.
“In the 13 years since Train 2000 was set up, we have shown how to provide innovative support mechanisms to accelerate the pace of creating and growing women-owned businesses and the WICED centre will accelerate that.”
The new-build project will contain a range of offices, training and conference facilities and incubator space for new businesses.
It is being jointly funded by WICED, the Northwest Development Agency, European Regional Development Fund, Future Builders and Liverpool City Council.
Deputy council leader, Cllr Flo Clucas, said: “Liverpool council is fully behind the WICED plans and we are delighted that the plans are being internationally recognised.”
WICED has been designed by Liverpool architects Nightingales, and work will begin in October.
