A Newport entrepreneur, Carolyn Pearse has been shortlisted for the 2017 Forward Ladies National Awards.

Carolyn, who grew up in Caerleon and currently lives in Newport is the owner of boutique branding and marketing agency, Carolyn Louise Ltd and has been shortlisted in the Start-up category for the North West, Wales and Ireland region.

Forward Ladies celebrates successful women in business and is a global platform that connects women to opportunities, networks, businesses and expertise that empowers them.

Forward Ladies managing director Griselda Togobo said: “This has been a fantastic year for women and now it’s time to change gear and focus on the support needed to nurture talent regardless of gender, sector or region. The award categories are a reflection not only of the types of businesses with which women are involved, but also those which showcase the underrepresented women working in traditionally male dominated fields such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics, digital and online industries.

“The calibre of entries has been increasing year on year, but this year we have a number of outstanding entries and here at Forward Ladies we very much look forward to celebrating and sharing their success.”

Carolyn will now attend the regional final at The Lowry, Manchester on October 13.

The winners from this, and the other regional finals, will then be invited to appear before a live panel of independent judges in November, followed by the national final in Leeds on December 1.

Carolyn said: “It’s an honour to be shortlisted for this award so early on in my business. I never expected to be shortlisted and was absolutely delighted when I found out - it took a few days for it to actually sink in!”

Jennifer Crawley, UK head of performance for business banking, HSBC and judge said: “There was an impressive number of high-calibre entries this year, highlighting the quality of talented businesswomen we have in the UK. These entrants are the future entrepreneurs of our country, with the Forward Ladies event to showcase the best Britain has to offer. HSBC will be supporting them every step of the way to ensure their businesses prosper and thrive in the long term.”