2025 is a year marked with political turmoil globally and with ongoing conversations around DEI and companies backtracking on previous commitments to support underrepresented groups, it is more important than ever to reinforce the support and empower women entrepreneurs. Addressing this disparity can also significantly drive economic growth, with reports indicating that if women had the platform to start and scale new businesses in the UK at the same rate as men, it would contribute up to £250 billion to the UK economy.

Diana Greenhalgh, Operations Lead at Virgin StartUp, mentor, and Co-Founder of the award-winning company My Bespoke Room has firsthand experience in overcoming these challenges, having raised over £2 million to facilitate her company growth and now mentoring and supporting businesses every day.

Diana Greenhalgh highlights the significant hurdles women face in raising funds for their ventures: “Women struggle to raise funds as there’s a lack of female role models and visible examples of women who have successfully raised capital and gone on to build recognisable companies.

“Fundraising is often about who you know, and women typically have less access to predominantly male networks. Only a small number of venture capitalists and investors are women which can lead to a lack of understanding of female focused products and businesses. We need more women backing women!

“In the tech industry, which attracts the largest share of venture capital, there are fewer women in the industry and even fewer still as founders.

“Women also tend to raise smaller funding rounds compared to men and are more realistic with their forecasts making it harder to compete. Additionally, many investors assume women with family commitments are less focused and committed.

“At Virgin StartUp we are committed to levelling the playing field for women founders who are starting and scaling businesses and working to proactively address the barriers faced by women starting their own business. One way is through the 50/50 funding pledge, which is a commitment to close the funding gap by providing equal funding between women and men founders.

“Another initiative by Virgin StartUp is the Empower100 programme, an 8-week accelerator programme for underrepresented business founders in London. The programme, part-funded by the UK’s Shared Prosperity Fund, offers a unique opportunity for underrepresented founders, including women, to maximise their chances of scaling and financing their business successfully by providing expert advice and equipping them with key skills.”

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