By Scott Wright

ROYAL Bank of Scotland will step up its efforts to support female business owners by hosting a question-and-answer session with leading entrepreneurs in Glasgow

next month.

The event, which will be held at SWG3 on December 4, aims to provide women with tools and advice to help their businesses reach their potential.

It is part of the bank’s Ask for More campaign, which launched earlier this month following the publication of research commissioned by the bank which found female entrepreneurs launch their companies with significantly less capital than men. The study also found women are much less likely to seek external funding than their male counterparts.

Hosted by journalist Zara Janjua, the panel at next month’s event will include Bella Mackie, author of the book Jog On, Lara Bross, founder of Bross Bagels, photographer Sara Tasker and Melinda Matthews, chief executive of Codeclan, the digital skills academy.

The discussion will be followed by “speed mentoring” sessions with experienced business people such as Susie Cormack-Bruce, Tammy Koslowski and Kylie Reid.

Susan Fouquier, managing director of business banking at Royal Bank of Scotland, said: “At Royal Bank, we are committed to supporting women in business in Scotland and providing female entrepreneurs and aspiring starters with the tools and advice they need to realise their business potential – whatever stage they are at in their career.

“Our research has shown that there is a deficit between the ambitions of Scottish female entrepreneurs and the practical measures they are taking to further their businesses – we hope to directly address this gap through initiatives like our Accelerator Hub and our Back Her Business programme.

“The Ask for More event seeks to inspire women in business and bring them together to share personal experiences and give practical help to allow female entrepreneurs achieve their full potential.”