To mark International Women’s Day Northern Ireland’s Claudia Larcada, founder of Mama Claudia has shared her experiences of launching her own business as she encourages other females thinking of becoming their own boss to take the plunge.

Claudia, founder of Mama Claudia in Portadown, County Armagh – a company selling good quality baby essentials at reasonable prices – says she has no regrets about starting her own business and is looking forward to a period of growth.

Mama Claudia

The local entrepreneur received a loan of £3,000 from Start Up Loans, which is part of the British Business Bank.

Since 2012, the government-backed Start Up Loans programme has delivered 36,446 loans and provided over £306m of funding to women-led businesses. This accounts for around 40% of the programme’s total delivery, around double the level of women business ownership in the UK.

Of these, 514 loans worth £4m went to women in Northern Ireland including Claudia.

She said: “My mum always said to me when growing up ‘you sleep in the bed you made’ meaning you get out of life what you put in, which has inspired my work ethic in life and in business.

“When I started Mama Claudia in 2020 my daughter was six months old and I wasn’t working. I knew the products I wanted to sell and I was confident I could start up a good business.

“Taking a loan through Start Up Loans was a much better rate than going to a bank and the business mentoring they also provide was very beneficial as I had never started a business before.

“The business is going very well, we use TikTok to promote our products and we have had customers from all over the world.

“I’ve had no regrets and would definitely encourage other female entrepreneurs to take that step and start their own business.”

Only one in five businesses in the UK is run by a woman. Access and awareness of funding, as well as family responsibilities, are often listed as top reasons that prevent women from making the decision to work towards becoming successful business owners.

Richard Bearman, Managing Director of Start-Up Loans, said: “I am very proud that Start Up Loans has provided more than £300m of funding to women entrepreneurs around the UK. No matter your gender, one of the keys to starting a business is having the encouragement and support to do so. As we approach International Women’s Day, it’s always fantastic to see our women business owners speaking up to inspire others to navigate the challenges and ultimately reap the benefits of being their own boss.”

For more information about Start Up Loans, please visit: https://www.startuploans.co.uk/