Increase in investors backing women entrepreneurs.

A Government initiative to help female entrepreneurs access business finance has received support from several lenders and investors.

The Investing in Women Code is intended to help the development of women business people in the UK by making tools and resources more accessible.

Who is showing their support?

The initiative is recommended by the Government-commissioned Rose Review, led by NatWest CEO Alison Rose, with findings showing how best to boost female entrepreneurship.

The report focuses on several angel investment groups, venture capitalists and banks, who have shown a strong level of investment in women entrepreneurs and dedication to improving access to financial support.

The main findings show:

• A considerable increase to 160 in the number of venture and growth capital firms signing up, accounting for 34 of the 53 new signatories in the year to 31 March 2022
• In 2021, 34 per cent of deals made by code signatories were in companies with at least one female founder, compared to an industry average of 24 per cent
• In the same year, the average amount of Angel (early-stage) investment being sought by all-female teams (£791,000) was very similar to all-male teams (£823,000). That figure was less than 50 per cent in the same year and signifies a sharp shift.

Is the code going global?

The code now has a partnership of 14 countries, including Australia, Canada and China, the World Bank and six regional development banks.

All mentioned are planning to draw on the UK’s experience to create a ‘Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code’, aiming to support the 400 million women-owned businesses across the globe.

Three priorities for the future have been agreed upon by the Government and the Investing in Women Code Partners, which include:

• Expanding information to further boost the number of code participants
• Hosting forums to share best practices, engage with women-led businesses and showcase support provided by investors
• Pooling data to further improve knowledge of the finance market and the challenges faced by women-led businesses.

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