A number of major banks and venture capital firms have come forward in committing to increasing the number of British female entrepreneurs by 50 per cent.
It comes after an independent review, commissioned by the Treasury and led by Alison Rose, Deputy CEO of NatWest, revealing that women face more adversity when it comes to securing investment compared to their male counterparts.
The review also found that just one in three entrepreneurs are women, while businesses run by women are, on average, just half the size of those run by men.
The findings led to the creation of the Investing in Women Code, a commitment to “support female entrepreneurship in the UK by improving women’s access to the advice, resources and finance needed to build a business”.
Today, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, Santander, TSB, Metro Bank, the Co-operative Bank, Nationwide and Bank of Ireland UK have joined venture capital firms Frontline, Episode 1, and Angel networks UK Business Angel Association, Angel Academe, and British Business Bank in signing up to the code.
Commenting on the announcement, the Exchequer Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “Breaking down gender barriers could add billions to the UK economy.
“I’m pleased to see so many of our major banks and venture capital firms support the code, and I call on others to follow suit.
“It’s shocking that only one in three entrepreneurs are women, and I hope that today’s commitment signals a turning point in attitudes towards investing in female-led businesses.”
Under the terms of the code, signatories must provide Government with regular data concerning the number of all-female-led businesses, mixed-gender-led businesses and all-male-led businesses they have an interest in.