It was announced at the Prowess National conference in Blackpool that YTKO were the winner of the prestigious Best Newcomer 2009 Award.

YTKO were awarded their original Flagship Award in 2007. The Flagship Award is a best practice quality standard for excellence in women’s enterprise development. This nationally and internationally recognised quality mark has been endorsed by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and several of the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs).

In 2009 Prowess decided to honour two out of the 35 UK Flagship organisations who consistently go above and beyond these already stringent requirements for start-up support, networks, and established business support.

The two categories were for Flagship Award holders for over three years, and a Newcomer Award for those holders of less than three years duration.

A panel of judges interviewed the five finalists at the conference, and YTKO’s triumph was announced at the packed gala dinner. One of the judges, Tessa Lyndon-Skeggs, Director of Women in Business, RBS Group, said:

“I was blown away by the stupendous level of achievement and innovation demonstrated by YTKO in their support for women entrepreneurs. They have achieved so much for women starting and growing businesses, show total commitment and passion, and consistently develop value-added services for women at all stages of the enterprise journey.”

Bev Hurley, YTKO’s Chief Executive, was thrilled to collect the award and the congratulations of the international audience.

“I’m delighted on behalf of our team, who work so hard to support all our women clients and entrepreneurs, whether members of the 5500 Enterprising Women across the UK, or scientists just starting out on the commercialisation journey through the Yorkshire Enterprise Fellowship programme. We constantly strive to improve the value we deliver to help women to grow strong and thriving businesses, and to ensure that public sector funds achieve sustainable businesses and new jobs”.