Structure of the taskforce
The Invest in Women Taskforce is a national initiative backed by the Department for Business and Trade and His Majesty’s Treasury, driving forward practical solutions to increase investment into female investors and entrepreneurs across the UK.
The Taskforce: Unlocking capital for female investors and entrepreneurs
If you’re a female founder wondering how to get investment, you’re not alone. Every day, we hear from women who want to grow their business but don’t know where to star or who to ask for funding.
Female entrepreneurs have huge potential – they deliver 35% higher returns on investment than their male counterparts and could add £250 billion to the UK economy if given the right support to start and scale. But only 2% of equity investment in the UK goes to all-female teams.
Part of the reason is who is holding the money. In the UK, just 15% of senior investment teams are women, and just 14% of angel investors are women. Yet, we know that women are twice as likely to invest in other women. That’s why the Invest in Women Taskforce is build around one simple idea: female investors backing female entrepreneurs.
Making the UK the best place in the world to be a female entrepreneur.
Female investors and founders in the UK
£250bn
could be added to the UK economy if women were to start and scale their business at the same rate as men.
- Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship 2019
15%
of the UK’s senior investors are women. Yet we know women are twice as likely to back other female founders.
- BVCA & Level 20 and Kauffman Fellows
>2%
Fully female founded businesses receive less than 2% of equity investment.
- Beauhurst x Invest in Women Taskforce
Our Taskforce has convened an initial £580 million in funding from seven leading investors: Barclays, M&G, The British Business Bank, Morgan Stanley, BGF, The Visa Foundation and Aviva. Each of these partners have committed new funding and there are two ways this capital will reach female investors and founders:
- Through the Taskforce’s Fund of Funds, managed by Bootstrap4F – a powerhouse team of women – who will channel capital to other female-led or mixed funds, ensuring that investment flows to female or mixed businesses.
- Through their own investor programmes, who will deploy new capital via their own programmed but aligned to the Taskforce’s mission – backing more female fund managers and founders.
More information can be found here:
Bootstrap 4F
The British Business Bank: The Enterprise Capital Funds programme, Regional Angels Programme, Patient Capital funds
BGF
Aviva
Morgan Stanley
This is long-term systemic work. By shifting who makes investment decisions and where the capital flows, we’re laying the foundations for a fairer more inclusive investment ecosystem – one where more female investors and entrepreneurs can thrive.
The Invest in Women Taskforce does not administer these funds directly and is not involved in application decisions. For any programme-specific information, please refer to the partner organisation.
Backed by:
