The winners of the NatWest Encouraging Women into Franchising (EWIF) Awards 2017 have been chosen and the Overall Woman in Franchising title has gone to Claire Slorach of Toni & Guy. She was chosen from the winners of the eight award categories, having won Woman Franchisee.
Melody Hossaini, founder of InspirEngage, was the guest speaker at the event. Experiencing her first EWIF awards ceremony, Hossaini said: “I think it’s so important for women to get involved in franchising. When women find themselves in situations where they want a bit more flexibility and perhaps want to make passion their career, they can look to the franchising model to help them become more economically active. It’s been absolutely fascinating and such a pleasure to see the great work that EWIF does.”
The 2017 award winners are:
- New Woman Franchisor – Rachel Fay, Little Learners
- New Woman Franchisee – Tracy Cooke, Magical Maths
- Woman Franchisor – Jo Stone and Tracy Townend, Puddle Ducks
- Woman Franchisee – Claire Slorach, Toni & Guy
- Woman Franchise Employee – Sarah Mayhew, Magical Maths
- Young Woman in Franchising – Emily Norman, diddi dance
- Service Provider – Vicki Mitman, Birketts
- Inspirational Woman – Fiona Williams, Bluebird Care
Clive Sawyer, chief executive of EWIF and managing director of Business Options, commented: “Every year the NatWest EWIF awards get bigger and bigger and I can’t believe we’ve just finished our seventh awards. EWIF membership is growing year-on-year, and each year sees record numbers of entries.
“This demonstrates how women are coming forward to shout about their achievements. For me, this means the EWIF cause is working it’s magic. It’s lovely to see so many from within the franchise industry joining together to celebrate the winners’ and finalists’ achievements.”
EWIF is a not-for-profit organisation that provides advice and guidance to those interested in the sector. EWIF says its remit is threefold; to encourage women to consider buying a franchise, to encourage business women to franchise their existing operations, and to help franchisors attract more women to their networks.
EWIF is to hold its National Conference on 21st September 2017, at the Staverton Park Hotel, Northampton, where attendees can learn more about EWIF and hear from guest speakers. To find out more visit www.ewif.org.