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The female founders’ hub

hub symbol with lightbulb, coins, books and a plant on it

73% of VC deals made last year had no women in the founding teams*

And for every £1 of venture capital investment in the UK, all-female founder teams received less than 2p…

Data such as this only confirms what many of us already know to be true – there is gaping chasm in the volume and value of investment that is secured by female-led businesses, compared with male-led businesses.

We cannot fix the problem alone, but as a signatory of the Investing in Women Code, we can do all that we can to help – starting with this collection of resources that we hope will be useful, whether you are just starting out in business, or are about to begin your fundraising journey.

See full list of resources below…

45% of our people are female

62.5% of our senior management team is female

160 One of the 160-strong signatories of the Investing in Women code

Resources

For networking:

AllBright
Members network focused on supporting women in business and their careers

AccelerateHer
Female founders network

British Association of Women Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurial network specifically for women with capital at risk

everywoman
Facebook programme to support women-owned enterprises to enter the digital economy

Female Entrepreneurs Association
Global communities for female entrepreneurs

Female Founders Rise
Growth resources and community

Female Techpreneur
Growth resources and community

Fund her North
Collective of more than 28 women with combined investment power more than £450 million in the North

Prowess
Online hub for women-friendly business support, inspiration and information

#SheMeansBusiness
Facebook programme to support women owned enterprises to enter the digital economy

sistr
App based resource for women to connect and support each other through education, mentorship, events etc

The Women’s Chapter
Networking and event platform for women

Women in Business Network
Membership network for business women who own SME businesses, are self-employed or work as professional service providers for small businesses

For investment:

Angel investment:

Alma Angels
Community of investors that have pledged to invest in female-founded startups

Angel Academe
Investment into female-founded tech startups

Inclusive Angels
Syndicate of angel investors from diverse background

Investing Women
Female-led angel investment syndicate

peanut StartHer
A micro fund investing in women and underrepresented founders of all ages, life stages, ethnicities and sexual orientations.

 

Venture capital:

Fund F
European Venture Fund that backs gender-diverse founder teams.

For business support:

Enter The Arena
Support for female founders in pre-raise and investment

Federation of Small Businesses
Providing support to small businesses including advice, financial expertise, support and a powerful voice heard in government

Hatch
Support underrepresented entrepreneurs to develop the knowledge, confidence, and skills needed to launch and grow a business

Invest in Women Hub
Run by the Council for Investing in Female Entrepreneurs (CIFE) to provide funding and business education and support

Scale up Institute
Provides details of ambassadors and programmes to support scale-ups

Startups
UK focused advice and resource platform for starting a business

 

For female-led brands:

Buy Women Built
Supporting female founded businesses and Showcasing Female built brands

 

For women in tech:

Girls Who Code
organisation working to close the gender gap in technology by teaching girls computer science

Tech London Advocates – Women in Tech
Open platform that accelerates opportunities for women in the tech industry

 

Think tanks and forums:

All Raise
Support for professional growth for female and non-binary founders

The Entrepreneurs Network – Female Founders Forum
Forum to encourage, support and promote female entrepreneurship.

 

*The Deal 2022, Beauhurst

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