Tell us about your organisation

Our purpose is to champion potential, helping people, families, communities and the businesses within them to thrive. With over 35k Business and Commercial customers and 638k Retail customers in Wales, we believe in empowering the people we support with their finances and with initiatives like our Friends Against Scams drive, protecting them too. We believe passionately in Welsh businesses, which is why we have £0.8bn in SME lending, We want to see more female entrepreneurs succeed and we’re proud that and have supported 359 entrepreneurs from our Cardiff hub. This contributes to a stronger financial ecosystem, which we also support with 558 schools registered with our MoneySense financial education programme and 44k Financial Health Checks delivered to our customers.

Why are you supporting the awards?

We [NatWest Cymru] want to celebrate and recognise inspirational role models. Through research we have done, one of the common themes which come up time and time again is the lack of accessible and relatable role models and the awards are a fantastic platform to showcase inspirational women and recognising the skills, knowledge and ambition that the nominees bring not only to their local community but also to the Welsh economy.

Why does gender equality matter to you?

Gender equality benefits everyone and striving towards a better gender balance, by helping women to accelerate is a huge focus, not only of mine, but also of the banks, ensuring we create a more diverse workforce for staff. We are also supporting and encouraging more women to explore setting up their own business. Female entrepreneurs and female-led businesses make a significant contribution to the national economy but there is still a huge, untapped potential. Our commitment to support more women to succeed in business goes beyond financial services. Through our Women in Business Programme we provide tailored support for female entrepreneurs - from introductions to relevant organisations to tangible day-to-day support.

Why do you support the work of Chwarae Teg?

NatWest Cymru are passionate about helping more women to achieve their ambitions and the work done by Chwarae Teg resonates with us, as there are so many synergies and opportunities to support and amplify the work delivered by Chwarae Teg.