The writer is co-chair of the Invest in Women Taskforce and head of Barclays Business Bank
There’s only one thing worse for the UK’s female entrepreneurs than the current dismal level of investment in their businesses: the prospect of that share of equity investment falling even further. Astonishingly, that is precisely what the government-backed Invest in Women Taskforce has uncovered. Investment in female-led start-ups isn’t just stalling; it’s actually reversing, with increasing funds going to male-run start-ups focused on artificial intelligence.
Research we commissioned from data company Beauhurst shows that in 2024, a mere 2 per cent of UK equity investment went to all-female founder teams, down from an already shameful 2.5 per cent the year before. Meanwhile, all-male teams secured more than 81 per cent of the pot. We are regressing, despite women-led businesses being shown to achieve higher returns on investment. So why are the figures going in the wrong direction and, crucially, what hope is there for the future?
Today’s investment climate is exacerbating the problem. The biggest success story is AI, which has more than doubled its investment from £1.72bn in 2023 to £3.55bn in 2024 in the UK. Yet, women in AI still can’t crack the algorithm for securing funding. It is dominated by “tech bros” with “tech gals” left fighting for nano-scraps — the average deal for male teams in AI was £5.3mn compared with £800,000 for female ones. We clearly need a better formula.
This status quo needs to be disrupted. That is why the Invest in Women Taskforce, which I co-chair alongside the serial entrepreneur Debbie Wosskow is focused on action — putting capital to work. Backed by the country’s first female chancellor, Rachel Reeves, we want to make the UK the best place in the world to be a female entrepreneur.
We’ve made a promising start — securing more than £250mn in funding to back female and mixed-gender businesses as they scale up, to be deployed by women. But to drive real change, we need to rebalance the landscape. Women are twice as likely, compared with male investors, to back other women, so more of them in investment roles means more capital reaching female founders.
The vast majority of capital is still allocated by men. Only 15 per cent of senior investors and 14 per cent of angel investors in the UK are women, so it’s no surprise that funding decisions follow the same outdated patterns. We’re working to increase female representation in venture capital and angel networks, ensuring that women aren’t just seeking investment, they’re shaping it.
Across financial services more broadly, we must enable more women to consider entrepreneurship — ensuring they have the tools, resources and networks to start, run and scale up their businesses.
Initiatives such as the new Enterprising Women programme at Murray Edwards College, Cambridge, can help. This is designed to support women across the university to found and grow companies, and events are heavily oversubscribed. Because of this and others like it across the country, we can see green shoots emerging. The latest statistics from Beauhurst show more women and mixed teams are being formed, yet support is needed, to de-glitch the funding journey.
The economic case is unanswerable. Businesses led by women have proved they can drive higher returns, create more jobs and fuel innovation. The UK cannot afford to keep overlooking this potential. But investment committees must urgently challenge the way investors seek out familiar types of entrepreneur because this consistently marginalises women.
We cannot be content with incremental progress. There are opportunities to be ambitious. The UK has a chance to lead the way in unlocking the full potential of our female entrepreneurs. The machines are learning — it’s time we did too.
