Female Company Owner wins Entrepreneur and Business of the Year Award Over The Bridge

Dawn Evans, owner of award-winning health and safety training company Ajuda, has been named as Female Entrepreneur of the Year for a second time at the South Wales Business Awards.

Dawn, who launched her company 12 years ago, also won the Business of the Year category. The awards, which have been running for ten years, were held last week.  

Dawn said: “To be recognized in two such prestigious categories was a shock, but a lovely one!  For everyone involved with Ajuda it is a wonderful recognition of the company and how hard we work.

“I never used to like the term entrepreneur, but I’ve embraced it now. I really want to fly the flag for females and demonstrate that if I can do it anyone can!” 

The spark for the company came about after a choking accident with her daughter Beth, in which Dawn managed to save her life, Dawn then set out to teach other parents how to save the life of their children if they became ill, sick or injured.

Today the company is no longer a lifestyle business which fits around the children. Thanks to Ajuda, over 50,00 people across England and Wales have gained qualifications in a variety of health & safety related courses including first aid, food hygiene, manual handling, fire safety as well as health and safety.

South Wales Business Awards founder Wesley Skene said: “The South Wales Business Awards was delighted to see Dawn Evans of Ajuda Training named Female Entrepreneur of the Year and South Wales Business of the Year. Dawn and Ajuda are a shining light to the Welsh business community and they should be very proud of their achievements.” 

Dawn is also a business mentor for the Princes Trust and an official role model for the Welsh Government’s Big Ideas Program. She is now focussed on organising the second National Education Show which will be held at Cardiff City Hall on Friday November 16 and is preparing to launch a new The HealthCare Show in 2019.