5 March 2015, the 9th edition of the JUMP Forum took place in Brussels at Vlerick Business School.  Nathalie Marchand, who was representing EBN and the WeHubs project, attended the various sessions with high interest. 

The event gathered around 600 participants around focused interactive workshops and conferences on the topic : The Female Economy. How can you benefit from the growing role played by women, and from their ever-increasing spending power?

"What one might think could have been a merely women for women event was clearly focused on innovation in all its meanings and adressed also men's new visions on how to  better integrate women's innovative thinking in the running of a corporate or of a business for a better overall performance as well as for a better representation of society's needs and aspirations including that of men who don't want to follow the old school and exclusively "male" model anymore", says Nathalie Marchand .

• customer innovation or how to better take into account the needs of women as the most important market target in size in many sectors that are not exclusively cosmetics or well-being related such as the purchase of cars, smartphones, computers, etc. 
• Innovation  creativity as many women develop ideas to improve the design and the use of daily objects, they develop new devices, new medical treatments to improve women's conditions ( physicial suffering, pregnancies, fertility, etc.).
• Innovation management for many women  after quiting corporates start their own business to run it  following their own convictions and to achieve not only their professional but also their life goals.

This event also gave the opportunity to meet young women entrepreneurs who were showcasing their business in the exhibition area. While listening to their career paths made of several work losses after the crisis in 2008 despite impressive CVs, as well as of disappointments, frustrations and huge questionning as to what they wanted to achieve and how as a worker and as a woman, we realize that supportive programmes such as WeHubs might be the open door to the realization of their business ambitions. 

All in all , an excellent event which met a huge success, that generates questionning and which leaves us fed with more confidence, hopes, and the will to realize our ambitions!