A NUMBER of dynamic businesswomen have been invited to enter a North-East business awards competition.

The 2009 North-East Woman of the Year Awards is being been launched at a series of events throughout the region.

A launch at the Radisson SAS Hotel, in Durham, was addressed by the winner of last year’s Susan Dobson Entrepreneur Award, Donna Wilson, of Logistics Teesside, and by last year’s runnerup Woman Social Entrepreneur, Geraldine Ling, of the Lawnmowers Independent Theatre Company.

Hosted by Women Into the Network (WiN) and sponsored by Business Link, the awards are targeted at women who have set up, or have taken over, independently-owned businesses in the region.

Win director Dinah Bennett said: “As the North-East Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Awards enter the tenth year, driven by the independent Win Ltd, we are set to host the biggest and best awards yet.”

The competition includes two new categories, including the One to Watch award – aimed at women thinking of starting a business, who are a maximum of 12 months away from trading.

The awards mark the first major activity of WIN Ltd, a business created to meet demand from members of the WIN project which started life in Durham University, ten years ago.

WIN Ltd is led by a board of female entrepreneurs, dedicated to creating an even stronger membership organisation to support, connect and promote women in business.

For more information on entering the competition, visit womenintothenetwork.co.uk