Celebrating International Women’s Day: with Inspirational Women in Business

***Please register for this event via Eventbrite using this link as you will need to purchase a ticket for the event

Join us, alongside Bluebox, She Almighty & Home Grown for an important and uplifting evening with inspirational women in business.

International Women’s Day is an important global day of celebration, awareness, and gratitude for the struggles and successes of women throughout history.

She Almighty, Bluebox + Home Grown are passionate about championing and enabling women in business, that’s why we are hosting this special event in collaboration bringing together and connecting aspirational and inspirational women, mission-led leaders and founders – to share their stories, challenges and experiences; how we can raise one another, break the bias to further gender equality and help people and planet whilst doing so.

This event also features a particular focus on female entrepreneurial leaders who have been through the process of growing their own business, raising funds for their business or have sold a business. Hear them share their inspirational stories!

The UN theme for International Women’s Day 2022 is “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow” and we are excited to gather women that are committed to building a more sustainable future for all. Above all else, our aim for the evening is to empower, connect and celebrate the women that join us for what’s set to be a brilliant and inspiring evening.

The panel:

Inspirational women in business with powerful stories and missions that we can all relate to and learn from.

Ariana Alexander-Sefre is an activist and founder & Co-CEO of SPOKE (spoke.world), a mindfulness app that sits in the intersection between music street culture and wellness. Through working with their community of notable UK artists, producers, and creatives, SPOKE makes taking care of emotional health more accessible for the millions of people currently missed out by traditional wellness. Ariana is also a TEDx speaker of ‘Can Music Save Lives?’; and scholar in Social Innovation at the University of Cambridge.

Kate Bell, second-time entrepreneur, founder of Zip Us In, and proud mother of two daughters. After identifying an opportunity in the market whilst pregnant with her second daughter, Kate designed and manufactured a jacket expander panel for use in pregnancy and when babywearing. In 2019, she filmed on the BBC’s Dragons’ Den and with the sale of more than 30,000 products, Kate is now raising her next round of investment to launch the ALTERNITY range offering women across the world luxurious designs in sustainable fabrics that adapt and evolve to be worth for a lifetime no matter how their body shape may change, consciously tackling fast fashion by reducing the quantity of fabric ending up in landfill and the impact on our planet

Anjel Noorbakhsh Ashman, CFA has over 9 years of experience in investment advisory including overseeing portfolios on $50m+ most recently working with on a $350m+ portfolio. After moving independently from Iran to England at 16 to study for A-Levels, Anjel became the only graduate from University College London (UCL) with a joint bachelor’s degree in Electronic Engineering with Nanotechnology. Understanding the need for advocates geared towards ethnic women, Anjel founded the Iranian Women’s Association (IWA) in 2014 which is the first and only UK-based association dedicated to Iranian women. Anjel is also now an angel investor for Ada Ventures, a UK-based venture capital firm focused on investing in overlooked founders and markets.

Georgia Metcalfe, founder of the multi-award winning online boutique The French Bedroom Company. During a successful career in Interiors PR for over ten years including PR Director at the Sanderson, Georgia identified a gap in the interiors market which she couldn’t ignore and FBC was born. Now co-run with her husband Ben, sixteen years on the business is still run from West Sussex with an ever-expanding team. Named an official Cool Brand five years in a row and having won multiple awards, Georgia now plans to grow the ranges and signature FBC designs even further.

Topics for discussion throughout the night:

• The stories of inspiring women who have led, run their own, raised capital or sold their business and the challenges faced along the way
• Why it’s important to champion equality for women in business and investment, how it could affect investor or purchaser interest
• The journey and tips for building and thriving within a successful business
• The importance of sustainability, mission-led businesses and leadership
• How we can all make a difference, be the change and break the bias
• And probably much more!