Several major investors have pledged to support female-founded businesses across the UK. This group includes Barclays, M&G, British Business Bank, Morgan Stanley, Visa Foundation, BGF, and Aviva. Their commitment involves direct investment to female-founded businesses, or by channelling funds through the ‘Women backing Women’ initiative.

This milestone surpassed the Taskforce’s original mission of creating a £250 million investment pool dedicated to supporting female-led and mixed businesses – one of the largest of its kind globally. With backing from Chancellor Rachel Reeves, the initiative aligns with the broader goal of driving economic growth. Research highlights a significant opportunity: if women launched and expanded businesses at the same pace as men, it could generate an additional £250 billion for the UK economy.

An event to be hosted at Mansion House will officially launch the Taskforce investment pool and the fund manager selection process for the ‘Women backing Women’ fund, ahead of which the Chancellor said: “We all, including myself as the first female Chancellor, have a responsibility to make the economy work better for women. Initiatives like the Invest in Women Taskforce funding pool are a fantastic example of the public and private sectors working together to help unlock the potential of female founders and seize opportunities to fire up the government’s number one mission of economic growth.”

Debbie Wosskow, co-chair of the Taskforce, wrote on LinkedIn: “I am absolutely thrilled to announce that the Invest in Women Taskforce has exceeded our £250 million funding target, creating one of the world’s largest dedicated pools to support female-led businesses!

“Now is the time to reboot the system and give female investors the power to drive meaningful change.

“This funding pool will be deployed by female decision-makers across the UK, ensuring female-powered ideas are championed.”

The Invest in Women Taskforce plans to channel its investment pool through female investment decision-makers across the UK. This approach reflects evidence that women investors are twice as likely to support female-led or mixed-gender businesses, helping to dismantle long-standing barriers for women entrepreneurs and investors.

This announcement comes on the heels of new Taskforce data showing that all-female-founded businesses secured just 1.8% (£145 million) of total equity investment in the first half of 2024, a decline from 2.5% in 2023.

To drive this initiative forward, the Taskforce has issued a call for fund managers to oversee the deployment of the ‘Women Backing Women’ Fund.

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