When the latest edition of the Investing in Women Code Annual Report was published this week, it caused something of a stir.
The government-sponsored scheme has more than 250 signatories pledging a commitment to support the advancement of women entrepreneurs in the UK by improving their access to tools, resources and finance in order to achieve their goals.
Launched in 2019, it was the first recommendation of the Rose Review, which found that lack of funding was one of the biggest barriers for female entrepreneurs.
With partners including The British Business Bank, UK Business Angels Association, UK Finance, Responsible Finance and the BVCA, the 250 signatories represent over £1 trillion in assets under management. They now account for 47% of venture capital deals and 40% of UK Business Angels Association angel investment groups.
Among the pages of data around investment deals in 2023, one comparison stood out: 32% of investment deals from signatory companies backed firms with a female founder, while the industry average is 28%.
In other words, more than two-thirds of Investing in Women signatory deals go to all-male founding teams.
Emma Jones CBE, founder and CEO of small business support platform and membership community Enterprise Nation, has taken investment over time in her business. She believes that before we’re going to see an uptick in these figures, women need support to understand the benefits of investment and how to handle it on a practical day-to-day basis.
“From my own personal experience, I know the feeling that you don’t want to ‘bet the house’ on raising money in case it goes wrong,” adds Jones. “This is a business protection sentiment that I feel particularly applies to female founders.”
Enterprise Nation’s own research has found that women are not only less likely to seek investment, but also seek lower amounts than their male counterparts.
“What is clear is that we need to do more to help women raise the funding bar and understand the benefits of taking on finance at an earlier stage, building ambitiously in order to create more flexibility and a better work/life balance further down the line,” explains Jones.
“Much of this can come down to working on financial forecasts to see the positive impact of taking on investment. We also need to work harder to connect women to networks that can support them in doing so.”
The 32% figure among signatories represented a drop from 35% in 2022 and 34% in 2021, with 2020 also standing at 32%.
However there was better news across the market as a whole: the 28% figure continued a rising trend in the proportion of female founding teams receiving investment (2020: 21%, 2021: 25%, 2022: 27%).
Among the 50 or so businesses to join as signatories in the last year are Big Society Capital, Palatine Private Equity, Praetura Group, the Royal College of Art and Form Ventures.
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