AN Ilkley entrepreneur was among inspirational female founders from the across the UK celebrated at the House of Lords to mark International Women’s Day.

Becky Davies-Downes, founder of William and Tilda, attended a special International Women’s Day reception at the House of Lords on Monday, March 7.

The event spotlighted over 100 impressive, multi-achieving female business owners being championed by Small Business Britain’s ƒ:Entrepreneur #ialso100 campaign, which showcases the contribution to society, economy and communities that many female founders are making across the country.

Becky Davies-Downes was named an ƒ:Entrepreneur #ialso100 in 2021 in recognition of her inspiring entrepreneurial journey, which has involved running a business alongside a roster of other responsibilities. Becky’s business, William and Tilda, focuses on recreating the clothing of 1940s wartime Britain, exploring how government initiatives such as the Utility scheme sought to clothe the nation whilst conserving precious resources for the war effort. Much of her work looks at the detail of how this was achieved, the lessons that can be learnt from the success of such schemes and how the past can influence our approach to a more sustainable fashion industry in the future.

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

Becky Davies-Downes said: "What an incredible day to be a part off. I met some truly inspirational women achieving incredible things. To be able to finally meet, chat and listen to their stories was a great example of how much talent and innovation small, female led businesses have to offer."

Delivered by Small Business Britain - the leading 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 offers a host of 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 (17%) of women are considering entrepreneurship, with 44% of them citing pursuing a passion as a key motivator, alongside 46% wanting greater flexibility.

"Being in room full of such impressive female founders such as Becky 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."

To see the full line-up of the 100 amazing women featured in last year’s f:entrepreneur #ialso100 campaign, including Becky, visit https://fentrepreneur.com/ialso-100-2021/

For this year's list visit his visit https://f-entrepreneur.com/ialso-100-2022/