AN ENTREPRENEUR is giving away thousands of pounds worth of business support to help other female start-ups.

Graphic and website designer Gemma Thirsk won the top prize in the national Bring It 2020 Crowdfunding campaign contest.

She is now giving away £10,000 worth of support to help other women looking to start their own ventures.

The 25-year-old, from Haxby, won a £5,000 silver award in The Bring It 2020 contest, after judges were impressed by her proposal to help women in business.

The £5,000 will be added to the £4,652 Gemma raised during the competition, which saw entrants compete in a Crowdfunding challenge.

The Bring It 2020 Crowdfunding campaign is a collaboration between NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank and powered by Crowdfunder, to help women raise money and build skills to get their business ideas off the ground.

Gemma, who has been successfully freelancing as a graphic and web designer for more than two years, said: “We have been giving away entire packages to female entrepreneurs where we’re doing everything from designing their website, looking at their branding, creating logos – and when the lockdown is lifted, offering a professional photoshoot too.

"Currently, we’re working with clients in York, Manchester, London, Grimsby, and Norwich.

"Offering a full online business package is a great way for us to give back to the business community whilst at the same time getting female start-ups prepared and ready for success for when businesses reopen.”

Gemma set up That’s Her Business last November in a bid to increase the number of women in business.

That's Her Business is a collective of female entrepreneurs, offering a range of services to start-ups in a bid to tackle the initial challenges which many people face, including graphic and web design, business photography and content creation, so they can focus their energies on generating sales from day one.

Gemma added: “According to the Alison Rose Review 2019, only one in three UK entrepreneurs is female.

"This review suggests that up to £250 billion could be added to the UK economy if women started and scaled business at the same rate as men.

"The aim is not to bring men down, it is to bring women up and add value to the UK economy.”