Banbury children’s play centre owner shortlisted for national women’s entrepreneur award

Caroline Bevan launched the Beaumont Road play centre in 2007 and has now been shortlisted for the Mumpreneur Award at this year’s everywoman Entrepreneur Awards.

A single mother of two children under the age of four, she operates two soft play centres and a child care nursery, addressing a niche in the market for mothers with young babies and supplying a support network for them.

Caroline was previously awarded the Best Small Business in Gloucestershire Award this year for her other Rugrats and Halfpints centre in Cirencester and the Trip Advisor Travellers' Choice award for both centres.

The 2023 everywoman Entrepreneur Awards finalists were selected from nearly a thousand entries by a judging panel comprising some of the UK’s most successful women in business, including the founder of The White Company, Chrissie Rucker, and Mandy Nyarko MBE of Ada Ventures.

Speaking about the awards, Maxine Benson, MBE, co-founder of everywoman, said: “When we launched the everywoman Entrepreneur Awards, we wanted to recognise the economic contribution of female entrepreneurs as job and wealth creators, as innovators, and as influential role models for future generations.

"And since then, everywoman has been at the forefront of the drive to increase the number of female entrepreneurs, working with government, industry bodies and the corporate sector to accelerate the rate of progress and dismantle barriers that remain for women, particularly when it comes to accessing funding, growing, and scaling their businesses.

The annual awards will see the inspiring female entrepreneurs gather in London on December 6 to celebrate this year’s finalists and winners and to recognise their role in the UK economy.

Daina Spedding, Investor at BGF, said: “It’s been a privilege to judge this year’s event. The standard of entries highlights the strength and ambition of female founders across all sectors, regions and growth stages.

"I hope this year’s nominees will inspire entrepreneurs of the future and showcase to the wider investment industry the huge potential for growth that exists in women-led businesses across the country.”

To find out more about the finalists or to book your place at the awards ceremony, please visit https://www.everywoman.com/entrepreneur-awards/.