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International Womens Day: Celebrating Scottish women-led businesses

CCU International

Meet Beena Sharma, co-founder and CEO of CCU International. CCU International is an Aberdeen-based company which provides technology to capture and reuse CO2 emissions.

The technology aims to capture gases from flue and chimney stacks, to avoid emitting them into the atmosphere.

Beena was recognised for her innovative business at the AccelerateHER Awards in 2023. She won an award in the Environment category for her work with CCU International.

International Women's Day featuring founder of CCU International, Beena Sharma
Photo credit: CCU International

When Beena established CCU International, she was faced with many barriers. Beena said: “My main barriers were actually being female and that of Asian origin. Starting your own business in an industry where there are very few people that look like you automatically becomes a barrier in more ways than one”.

To overcome these obstacles, Beena has received support from both her family and colleagues. “My biggest allies have also been my co-founders – all male. They have supported, encouraged, backed and respected my every decision on this journey and continue to do so. I could not be more proud of our small team,” Beena said.

Championing Scotland’s women-led businesses

We are proud to celebrate Scottish women-led businesses this International Women’s Day, and every day. In Scotland, we’ve made a lot of progress on the issue of gender equality, but we still have more to do. By celebrating our women-led businesses and encouraging diversity in leadership, we can make real progress towards a fairer society for all.

Interested in learning more? Find out about the theme of inspire inclusion this International Women’s Day 2024. You can also discover what Scotland is doing to support gender equality.

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Patria Henriques

Update: 2024-08-18