COFFEE Republic entrepreneur Sahar Hashemi is the headline speaker at the first annual Unique conference organised for East Lancashire's businesswomen.

Unique is a women's network, set up by the Chamber of Commerce, which gives them the opportunity to improve personal development within the business community.

By providing support and business information to encourage women into enterprise, the Chamber aims to create an environment which will stimulate, share and encourage developing female managers and business owners to create business solutions and to help women find a balance between work and life.

The event will be held on September 18 at Ewood Park, home of Blackburn Rovers, and will be introduced by Hashemi, who is one of Britain's business starlets.

Turning a dream into reality, Hashemi's coffee shop, which is now a chain comprising 110 outlets across the country, has sales figures topping £30 million.

Hashemi will be just one of a number of motivational female speakers who will give presentations on the day, covering all the relevant issues from networking to personal development. The other key speaker is Hilary Samson-Barry, of the Women and Equality Unit at the DTI.

The cost per place is £20 plus VAT, including a two-course meal provided by Northcote Offsite, and only a very limited number of places are available from Clare Parkinson on 01254 356400.