Dynamic Northern entrepreneur Teresa Townsley is confident that many other businesswomen will join her in Invest Northern Ireland, writes Francess McDonnell.

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland is not in the business of placing lonely-hearts advertisements. But it has made no secret of the fact that it is seeking women in the North and not just any kind of woman. As Ms Teresa Townsley has proven, it takes a certain calibre of woman to capture the heart of the Department.

A chartered accountant by profession, she is joint managing director and group finance director of the MTF group of companies which she runs with her husband, Michael.

Last summer the Department of Enterprise advertised for shadow board members for Invest Northern Ireland, arguably the most important new economic development agency to be set up in the North since the Troubles began. It will bring together all the existing agencies, including the Industrial Development Board and LEDU, the small business agency, under one roof to spearhead future economic development in the North. INI will be launched formally in April and will have a staff of more than 600 people and a budget of more than £200 million sterling (€324 million) per annum.

Out of the 156 people who initially applied to become board members of Invest Northern Ireland last year, just 13 were women. Eight board members were subsequently appointed, of whom Ms Townsley was the only woman to make it through the rigorous application process successfully.

Now the Department of Enterprise and its minister, Sir Reg Empey, have launched a campaign to attract more female applications to the board of Invest Northern Ireland. "I am making a personal invitation to women to consider applying for the Invest Northern Ireland board," said Sir Reg.

"It is imperative that women are well represented on this board and act as role models in the community, and in doing so demonstrate that the world of business is not just a man's world," the Minister said.

Ms Townsley is one of the most vibrant role models that Northern Ireland could ask for and she could be a hard act to follow for any woman who has answered the Department's own "lonely hearts" appeal. She combines her responsibilities to the MTF group of companies, which provide a range of services from accountancy to management consultancy, employment and training, with a number of high-profile public appointments in Northern Ireland.

Ms Townsley currently plays an active role on the board of five organisations, including that of LEDU where she is vice-chairwoman. She is also a member of the Information Age Initiative, the Government-driven project that wants to improve the North's IT infrastructure and capabilities, and is a member of the advisory committee for the Central Investment Fund for charities, sponsored by the Department for Social Development.

Aside from her commitment to public sector bodies, she is currently acting honorary treasurer for Queen's University in Belfast and is involved actively in several business bodies in the North. It makes for a busy schedule, she admits.

"People often ask me why I do it and it is simple - I don't do it all by myself. I work with great teams of people and I am selective about the organisations that I work with.

"I would hate people to have the impression that I am killed working because of my commitments to certain organisations; that is certainly not the case. I also have a husband and three children, who are at the very centre of my life and with whom I love spending time. I plan my time very carefully so that I am not giving less than 100 per cent to the people and organisations I am committed to," Ms Townsley said.

She is a passionate supporter of small businesses, having successfully established her own nearly 17 years ago. Ms Townsley set up an accountancy business in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, shortly after she was married, following a spell with the group that is now known as PricewaterhouseCoopers.

She says the experience gave her a valuable insight into what it takes to get a company off the ground. "I set up my business because I couldn't get a job. My husband had been a merchant banker at the time so I was very fortunate that, at the beginning, I knew there was at least one steady salary coming into the house. Even so it was a hugely exhausting experience. When you are in business by yourself, you have all the worries about making it work in the long term with all the day-to-day problems to sort out.

"I had really just got it set up and running and was in hospital having our first child when Michael, my husband, came to visit me one day and asked me for a job. When you suddenly become the main bread-winner, that is when you have to become very brave," Ms Townsley said.

Neither of them has ever regretted the decision to go into business together. "We keep each other on our toes and it is great fun. That is not to say we don't have our own opinions on certain issues. Many times I take it in the neck from Michael if he doesn't think I have got it right, particularly in relation to some of my public appointments, and that doesn't do me any harm," she said.

"One of the reasons why I get involved in public organisations is that I believe you have to be prepared sometimes to stand up and say 'that's not right', and I really do believe that you have a responsibility to put something back into your community. It is also a tremendous learning experience. I have learned so much from being involved with various organisations and learning from the experiences of other people.

"Many of the organisations I am involved with operate in sectors in which I work or of which I have very close knowledge, so they also keep me up to date. I have also developed very good boardroom skills because there is great interaction between people which I find really stimulating," Ms Townsley added. She is also a fanatical reader, with a reputation for digesting company reports, Government briefing documents and policy statements.

Ms Townsley says that one of her proudest achievements to date has been the establishment of the Emerging Business Trust. This is a an investment fund, set up with the International Fund for Ireland, that specialises in developing technologies and helping start-ups located in disadvantaged areas.

She continues to manage the daily operations of the revolving £5 million loan and £1 million-equity fund which, to date, has assisted around 300 companies in the North.

"It is very exciting to be involved in start-up companies. There is a real wealth of talent in Northern Ireland and we need to encourage more people to take the risk and start their own businesses.

"We are very profession-driven in the North and I think that is because of where we are coming from in Northern Ireland. If you look at my generation, we are probably the first generation off the land. Many of our parents and immediate family were farmers. There was a general consensus at one time in Northern Ireland that you should get an education and go into the professions, with teaching and medicine top of the list," Ms Townsley said.

She believes that is all changing now. "There is a different view in Northern Ireland. Education is still vitally important but now you can do different things with it. Look at me, I wanted to be a dentist when I was at school. We have to create the right environment in Northern Ireland that gives industry the chance to flourish," she said.

During the last two years, Ms Townsley has also been involved in a major initiative in the North to create a new biotechnology sector, North and South. Plans are now well progressed for the BioScience and Technology Institute, which will create a new world-class facility in Northern Ireland to promote research and innovation in the biotech, life and health technologies sector. It will be located in a 65,000 square foot new development in Harbour Gate, east Belfast, and could create up to 300 jobs once it is operating at maximum capacity.

Ms Townsley is confident that the biotechnology sector will play an important role in Northern Ireland's economy in the future.

"We do have a raft of talent in the North; what we have got to do now is position ourselves to take advantage of new opportunities. The board of Invest Northern Ireland is determined to create the best support structures that we can for all businesses to succeed in Northern Ireland."

She is confident that she will not remain the only female on its board for long. "I know there are very talented women in Northern Ireland and I am sure that many of them would love to get involved. I think the reason there were fewer applicants from women first time round goes back to the fact that women have a tremendous balancing act to maintain - at home and professionally.

"Some times women with a good career and a good home life look at the responsibilities of public appointments and think of the time constraints. But with the right support, it can be very rewarding," Ms Townsley said.