There are 950,000 female business owners after 130,000 set up on their own in the last year. But the Government is keen to encourage more women to take the plunge.

‘I want to see more women becoming entrepreneurs and we are working hard to ensure they have access to the support they need,’ commented Jacqui Smith.

‘Already women-owned businesses contribute between £50 billion and £70 billion a year to the economy and almost half of women now believe they have the skills to start a business and that entrepreneurship is a good career choice. However, there is still a vast amount of potential to be tapped.’

To coincide with International Women’s Day, the DTI has published a booklet, Promoting female entrepreneurship, which outlines economic advantages of greater numbers of women in business.

A Women’s Enterprise Panel has also been formed by the Chancellor and the Secretary of State for Trade & Industry to advise on ways of increasing numbers of businesswomen still further.