Photo credit: Wilder Ways
HARNESSING THE POWER OF FEMALE RURAL ENTREPRENEURS IN ARGYLL The W-Power Female Entrepreneurs Online Network is an international empowerment programme for women entrepreneurs in sparsely populated areas across northern and arctic communities. Stretching from Ireland to Lapland, W-Power was introduced to Argyll in 2018 as a three-year project supported by HIE.
Photo credit: Wilder Ways
As they developed the business from its base in Campbeltown, Cara had positive encounters with a number of start-up and entrepreneurship support services, including the SJ Noble Trust, but had shied away from groups specifically targeted at women entrepreneurs.
When Cara Gelati set up the adventure company Wilder Ways with her wife Nikki in 2015 she had no background in entrepreneurship. But following a week spent on Islay trekking with Nikki’s two ponies, the pair decided to leave their previous roles to set up a company offering guided horse-riding expeditions, trail-riding holidays and tailor-made outdoor adventures. 16
Then, in 2019, Cara and Wilder Ways applied for, and won, an innovation award from W-Power. Presenting her idea for the exciting new activity of horseback archery, Cara was impressed by the detailed training and support available to the businesswomen in preparing their pitches. They won one of five prizes awarded to help support female-led businesses across the international network. During a debrief with project leader Cathy Higginson from HIE, Cara agreed to join the leadership committee of the Argyll W-Power network. Now chair of the committee, Cara sees her role as helping to ‘pay it forward’ – reaching out to other successful businesswomen in the region to secure speakers and support, helping members move to the next level on their own entrepreneurial journey. In spring last year, as businesses were impacted by COVID-19 measures, Cara and the committee began reaching out to member businesses to see how the network could offer support. That call came at just the right time for Karen Lindsey, who had launched her craft beer store The Oban Beer Seller the weekend prior to lockdown.
