Katie Hopkins: Female-specific business support 'stifles economic growth'

Business support schemes which focus solely on women are unhelpful, The Apprentice star Katie Hopkins has claimed.

Speaking at the Comment Conference in London, the entrepreneur, who since appearing on Lord Sugar's show has become an advisor to small companies on building a brand, said rather than create more successful female business owners, women-specific initiatives actually hinder progress.

"The separatist approach often stifles the engines of economic growth," she said. "We need to focus on equipping the individual for business within a framework they will actually work in. Women aren't going to operate in an environment of just women unless they join the Women's Institute!"

Hopkins said female-specific support is not an approach she follows when advising business owners.