This initiative has been designed to find the region’s next superstar businesses. With £1 million from the West Midlands Co-Investment Fund, which is managed by Midven, part of Future Planet Capital, already secured as part of the programme’s commitment to local female entrepreneurs.

Being delivered in partnership with The 51% Club, a peer community to help the region’s female founders scale, and other key partners, the Fortuna Fellowship will see the successful founders embark on a comprehensive 12-month growth programme.

Each will be paired with a high-level mentor who will support them as they take part in a tailored programme of workshops and masterclasses delivered by industry experts. A central advisory board will provide the cohort with guidance from industry leaders in areas such as product testing, manufacturing, go-to-market strategy, exporting, and investment.

The cohort of founders will benefit from weekly ‘office hours’ with one-on-one sessions with the investment team for personalised support, as well as monthly co-working and an immersive innovation residential. At the end of the 12-month programme, the founders will secure a share of up to £2 million equity investment: subject to raising matching co-investment, investment committee approval, due diligence, and a formal contract.

Rupert Lyle, Fund Principal for the West Midlands Co-Investment Fund at Midven, which is part of Future Planet Capital, comments: "We are excited to launch the Fortuna Fellowship and provide a platform for talented female founders to thrive. Our goal is to empower these entrepreneurs and help them achieve their full potential with a programme that’s designed to accelerate the growth of their businesses.

“This is unlike anything delivered before in the region and we want this to be a platform for more female-led businesses to thrive. Ahead of launching applications in January, we are reaching out to the region’s ecosystem to come on board as investors and partners in this game-changing accelerator.”

The Fortuna Fellowship is open to female-led businesses in the early stages of development with a strong potential for growth. Applications will open on 1st January and founders must demonstrate a unique and innovative solution, a scalable business model, a compelling equity story, and some level of traction.

The programme is being delivered in partnership with The 51% Club, which launched earlier this year to help female founders scale. Founder Tara Attfield-Tomes, who is also co-chair of The Lifted Project – a Treasury-backed initiative to increase the flow of capital to female-led businesses – adds:

“I am so proud to be partnering with Midven to launch The Fortuna Fellowship and I know the vital role that this will play in starting to address the gender investment gap. I have heard the ‘2% of VC funding going to women’ stat for far too long and I’m determined to work alongside brilliant partners like Midven who want to see the dial move for once and for all.

We’ve purposely named this initiative after Fortuna, the Roman goddess of fate, because we no longer want to leave it to chance for women to secure the investment they need. Fortuna was associated with the bounty of the soil and the fruitfulness of women, and this is what we have to celebrate - the innovation being driven by female entrepreneurs. I cannot wait to bring more partners on board and really take this to the next level.”

Applications for The Fortuna Fellowship will open on 1 January and interested businesses can register their interest by visiting the51percent.club/fortuna-fellowship.