A £50,000 programme aims to help rural business women in Dorset improve their digital skills.

The second Dorset Business Women go Digital programme will help women start and grow their businesses.

It will do so by developing their skills, knowledge and confidence of using digital technology.

The programme will be available to all women-led businesses across Dorset, but with emphasis on rural areas.

The first Dorset Business Women go Digital programme which finished in March helped 120 women-led businesses.

Now the Government Equalities Office is offering Superfast Dorset further grant funding to help those women continue their "digital journey" as well as helping women just starting to develop their digital know-how.

One of the Superfast Dorset partners is Dorset County Council.

Colin Jamieson, who holds the council's economy portfolio said women faced particular challenges in the workplace.

Often, they had to juggle caring responsibilities which mean they need to work flexibly.

Many women also had a gap in their careers which meant they could fall behind as technology advances, said Mr Jamieson.

"There could be an extra one million female entrepreneurs if women started businesses at the same rate as men. We want to help Dorset business women go digital which will help them start and build businesses here."

Nicci Campbell, who runs the Angel Cake Company in Dorchester, benefited from the first programme. She hopes the new programme will help build her business even more.

She said: "I was a complete Luddite; I had no idea how to use digital technology until I went to the project launch conference in the autumn.

"Over the next few months I went to sessions on using Facebook, blogging and understanding Google Analytics.

"It has made a tremendous difference to our business, helping it grow by 60%. We are now looking to expand and hope the new programme can help us reach the next level."

The new programme will help women to support each other through networking while 'digital heroines' like Nicci will inspire others with their stories of how smarter use of digital technology is helping them.

For details, visit www.dorsetforyou.com/superfast.