Blackburn CEO wins national award for initiative to help local women in business

By IN4.0 Group

25 Feb 2022

mo-isap-in4-group-landscape-copy.jpg

Blackburn-born Mo Isap has been recognised with a national award for efforts to support women freelancers during the pandemic. The CEO of IN4 Group, based in Preston, established free accelerator programme FreelanceHER 100 for women in the digital, creative, media and technology sectors across the North West.

Mo was awarded the Inclusive Skills Excellence Award at last night’s (Thursday) WorldSkills UK’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Heroes Awards. The awards, in partnership with Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and NCFE, celebrate the individuals and organisations championing diversity and inclusion within the business and technical education sectors. 

The aim of the programme was to give women in Lancashire and Greater Manchester access to the skills and confidence to pursue their ambitions. The project had a strong reach across the different sectors with 50 per cent of participants coming from creative sectors, 27 per cent from digital and 18 per cent working in technology.

It also succeeded in attracting women from a host of different backgrounds and creating a diverse community. One quarter (25 per cent) were from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, 13 per cent registered disabled, 12 per cent identified as LGBTQ+ and the ages ranged from 16-60. 

The programme is designed to help women entrepreneurs create, innovate, learn and grow their businesses through workshops and peer to peer mentoring. Participants speak highly of its success with 97 per cent believing it positively impacted their businesses and over 90 per cent saying they could not have received better business support. Looking to build on the success of the pilot scheme, the next cohort of FreelanceHER 100 will launch on Tuesday (1 March). 

Dr Neil Bentley-Gockmann OBE, CEO of WorldSkills UK, said: “This exciting new initiative has had a real impact on women in the North West. FreelanceHER 100 blazes a trail when it comes to finding out how to deal with a real issue that had been exacerbated by the pandemic. The stats also show an appreciation for diversity among leaders and we are excited that the project is going from strength to strength with the second cohort launching in March. Brilliant work from Mo – well done!” 

Mo Isap said: “This award is a huge honour and privilege as it recognises the work of our amazing team at IN4 Group, who designed and launched FreelanceHER 100, and successfully supported 104 women into tech, digital and creative freelance careers. WorldSkills UK is an exemplar organisation, doing such an incredible job, and winning this award will further enhance our mission to ensure that everyone has fair access to digital jobs and skills. Our ambition is to support 1000 women with achieving their entrepreneurial ambitions and growing new businesses.”

Applications for FreelanceHER 100 are now open, visit: www.freelanceher100.com/join

Latest news

1

University of Cumbria and BAE Systems launch flagship scholarship BAE Systems scholarship

University of Cumbria and BAE Systems launch flagship scholarship

11 Jun 2025

2

College restaurant honoured with top culinary award from prestigious chefs’ guild Karen Lilley Front Of House Lecturer David McKown David Lyon Scholars Manager And Blackburn College Principal Dr Fazal Dad

College restaurant honoured with top culinary award from prestigious chefs’ guild

10 Jun 2025

3

Cosmetic manufacturer lets new unit on Frontier Park, Burnley Badgequo have agreed to let the site on Frontier Park

Cosmetic manufacturer lets new unit on Frontier Park, Burnley

10 Jun 2025

4

SQ Digital celebrates 25 years and enters new era with CEO appointment Kamal Essa

SQ Digital celebrates 25 years and enters new era with CEO appointment

09 Jun 2025

5

New chair appointed to Atlas BFW Management Graham Cowley

New chair appointed to Atlas BFW Management

09 Jun 2025

Background image for hub sign up block

LBV Hub

Leverage Lancashire Business View platforms

Post your news
Post your events
Post your offers
Build your network
Improve your SEO
Gain coverage in the magazine
Sign-up
Events
Lancashire Net Zero Carbon Conference
Net Zero Carbon Social 1200pxtrident 2
Networking
18 Jun 2025

Lancashire Net Zero Carbon Conference

Crow Wood Hotel & Spa Resort, Burnley, BB12 0RT

08:30 - 13:00

LBV123 July/August Launch Event
Lancashire Business View magazine launch
Networking
16 Jul 2025

LBV123 July/August Launch Event

Burnley College Industry Hub, Burnley, BB120AN

08:30 - 10:30

Lancashire Built Environment Conference 2025
BEC 315 X 315 Px
Networking
25 Sep 2025

Lancashire Built Environment Conference 2025

Blackpool Football Club, Blackpool, FY1 6HX

08:30 - 13:00

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course

Preston Campus, Preston , PR1 2HE

09:00 - 17:00

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course

Preston Campus, Preston, PR1 2HE

08:00 - 17:00

RISE - The Academy for Female Leaders and Managers
WENDY BOWERS RISE Illustrstion copy.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
02 Apr 2025 - 08 Oct 2025

RISE - The Academy for Female Leaders and Managers

East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, Clayton le Moors, BB5 5JR

09:00 - 15:30

The Business Network Central & East Lancashire
LBV Hub Networking
12 Jun 2025 - 12 Jun 2025

The Business Network Central & East Lancashire

Stanley House, Blackburn, BB2 7NP

11:30 - 14:15

Preston Freelancer Meet-Up
LBV Hub Networking
12 Jun 2025 - 12 Jun 2025

Preston Freelancer Meet-Up

Society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

10:00 - 11:30

Midnight Oil: The Entrepreneur’s Journey: Scaling Strategies with Brad Waldron
BU-June-Event-BRAD-1.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Networking
18 Jun 2025 - 18 Jun 2025

Midnight Oil: The Entrepreneur’s Journey: Scaling Strategies with Brad Waldron

Blackpool Football Club, Bloomfield Rd, Seasiders Way, Blackpool, FY1 6JJ

08:30 - 11:30

Chamber Business Lunch – June
Chamber Logo1.png.png
LBV Hub Networking
20 Jun 2025 - 20 Jun 2025

Chamber Business Lunch – June

Lancaster House Hotel, Bailrigg, Lancaster, LA1 4GL

11:00 - 13:30

90 day Business Planning Workshop
LBV Event Header.png.png
LBV Hub Seminars
20 Jun 2025 - 20 Jun 2025

90 day Business Planning Workshop

Bolton Arena, Arena Approach, Horwich, BL6 6LB

09:00 - 16:30

Moonlight and Memories Walk 2025
MMW.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Fundraisers
21 Jun 2025 - 21 Jun 2025

Moonlight and Memories Walk 2025

St Catherine's Hospice, Preston, PR5 5XU

18:00 - 23:00

Advertise with us

Reaching 50,000 members, our print, digital and event platforms offer a fantastic way to raise your business profile and help you grow.

Find out more LBV122 Online Graphic
Subscribe now

Weekly news bulletin