Summit Focuses on High-Growth Women Businesses Worldwide

The second annual "We Own It" Summit, an event focused on breaking down barriers for women in high-growth entrepreneurship, kicked off Thursday in London. The two-day event is being run by Astia, a global nonprofit that helps accelerate women-led ventures, and is being funded in part by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The summit aims to address the challenges women face in launching successful high-growth businesses and identify solutions for moving forward.

Highlights of the summit include keynote speakers Cherie Blair and Baroness Wilcox, who are both recognized female leaders in entrepreneurship and innovation. Cherie Blair, the wife of former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, is the founder of Cherie Blair Foundation for Women and will speak about her work to promote women entrepreneurs in countries where they lack equal opportunities. The Baroness Wilcox, a prominent businesswoman and the UK's Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Business, Innovation and Skills, will be discussing the new age for women entrepreneurs and growing their businesses.

"The health of our global economy depends on women participating at the highest ranks of business and entrepreneurship," Lesa Mitchell, vice president of advancing innovation at the Kauffman Foundation, said in a statement. "We're calling the next 10 years the 'Decade of the Woman Entrepreneur,' and I'm excited about how this year's Summit will advance this proclamation."