Investing in women: Entrepreneurship at InnovationRCA

In a special episode for International Women’s Day, this week's episode focuses on InnovationRCA - the Royal College of Art's centre for enterprise, entrepreneurship, incubation and business support.

In the last five years, companies supported through InnovationRCA’s incubator programme have been valued at more than £305 million, with 52% of the 116 founders being female, and 34% of founders from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Part 1: Introducing InnovationRCA with Dr Nadia Danhash

In the first part of this two part episode, we hear from Director Dr Nadia Danhash, who has been leading the way in championing diversity amongst a cohort of start-up businesses.

Dr Danhash is interviewed by Dr Melanie Flory - Associate Director of Research at the RCA’s Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design. Dr Flory is a psychologist and neuroscientist whose research enquiry is at the intersection of inclusive design, systems thinking, and cognitive neuroscience. 

They discuss:

• the ways InnovationRCA is fostering inclusion, driving diversity, and empowering women
• how InnovationRCA’s new Design & Impact S/EIS Fund is supporting female founders

We hear from extraordinary RCA graduates who have journeyed through InnovationRCA's incubator themselves:

• Eleanor Nadimi (RCA MA Textiles, 2010), Founder of OneNineEightFive
• Tashia Tucker (RCA MRes, 2017) Founder of Olombria
• Urshita Gautam (RCA MA Critical Writing in Art & Design, 2019), Co-founder of Revive Innovations +

In a conversation led by Annetta Snider, InnovationRCA’s Entrepreneur in Residence, they discuss:

• their journey navigating the entrepreneurial ecosystem
• the ways they’re driving change in their companies

Learn more about InnovationRCA

• InnovationRCA's Design & Impact S/EIS Fund
• Website: InnovationRCA
• Instagram: @InnovationRCA
• LinkedIn: InnovationRCA
• X: @InnovationRCA

Additional resources

• International Women's Day
• The Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship, 2019
• The Rose Report: Progress Report, 2023

The episode was recorded on 27 Feb 2024.

#InnovationRCA #Entrepreneur #RoyalCollegeofArt #IWD2024