The Wood Foundation was delighted to join entrepreneurs, founders, innovators, and business and industry leaders at yesterday’s ONE annual event – Entrepreneurship Driving Transformation at ONE BioHub.
It was inspiring to hear from The Wood Foundation and Opportunity North East‘s Chairman Sir Ian Wood and ONE’s CEO Jennifer Craw reflect upon the regional impact of ONE thus far, and the private sector driver’s continued commitment to building a strong, sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem in the North East.
Kate Forbes MSP, Deputy First Minister, in conversation with Times Radio presenter and journalist Calum Macdonald, also highlighted the power of this collaboration for the regional economy and prospects.
At The Wood Foundation, we are passionate about cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset from an early age.
Through our Excelerate investment and our network of Business & Community Support Officers in 19 schools across Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Angus, we seek to engage, inform, motivate, and empower young people. By focusing on real-world skills and their applications, we enable opportunities for students to gain valuable exposure and support them to become active, contributing citizens.
Our approach, centred around project-based learning, celebrates resilience, embraces failure, and supports young people in pursuing their entrepreneurial spirit and ambitions.
According to a report published in February 2024 – and highlighted at yesterday’s ONE annual event – for every £1 of equity investment in the UK, just 2p goes to fully female-founded businesses. Additionally, research from Education and Employers shows that children as young as 6 years old start associating certain jobs with specific genders, which can limit their interest in some subjects and career paths.
It is critical that we continue to invite a wide range of partners into our schools to challenge assumptions and raise aspirations of all young people, ensuring they have the confidence and support to pursue their chosen career paths.
ONE is supported by a 10-year £64 million funding commitment from The Wood Foundation, underscoring our dedication to driving transformative change in the region.