There has certainly been progress in the number of female-led businesses over the past two decades. However, women continue to face significant disparities in accessing investment capital. Female-led UK companies secured just 1.8% of private equity funding in the first half of 2024, down from 2.5% in 2023. It’s also been recently reported that female-founded health tech companies in the UK, US, and Canada raise 23% less capital per deal compared to their male-founded counterparts.
The Treasury’s Rose Review predicted that £250 billion could be added to the UK economy if women created and scaled companies at the same rate as men. So the need for a better balance is hugely important, not just for individual female entrepreneurs but the country’s financial well-being.
I’ve been fortunate to be an exception to the rule, raising several millions of pounds in backing for my company Rem3dy Health. This has allowed our main brand, Nourished, which specialises in 3D-printed personalised nutrition stacks, to expand across the UK, Japan, the US and Europe and sell more than 53 million units. I raised the highest female founder seed round in UK history four years ago – but should this really have been a record? We need to see some major changes in the attitudes and actions of government, industry and business leaders.
The visibility of female entrepreneurs remains a critical issue, particularly in the technology sector. Conference and networking event organisers must redouble their efforts to create opportunities for women to showcase their businesses and connect with investors. This includes making sure they feature prominently on panels and are chosen for high-profile speeches and presentations. Journalists, podcasters and other media creators should speak to women business leaders for all sorts of pieces, rather than unconsciously pigeonholing them for female-specific subjects. Business awards must recognise their product innovation and financial acumen more.
Mentorship and support networks play a crucial role in addressing these disparities. Initiatives like Women Backing Women and Lifted, which connect female angel investors with woman-led companies, demonstrate effective approaches to creating change. Buy Women Built is also a crucial scheme to boost the profile of female-created brands, (an initiative I am proud to be a part of). The business community should expand mentoring programmes and encourage established leaders to share their expertise and experience around gaining investment, and general business knowledge.
Unconscious bias continues to affect investment decisions, despite obvious discrimination against women being much less prevalent in business than it was. Investment managers may underestimate women’s entrepreneurial capabilities or focus disproportionately on risks when evaluating female-led businesses. There’s often a lack of knowledge of female-oriented sectors, such as general wellness or skin health, and incorrect assumptions about their financial potential. Addressing these biases requires training throughout the investment sector and improving female representation in senior investment roles – currently, only 12% of UK investment trust managers are women.
Female entrepreneurs often bring unique strengths to their ventures. Many have strong personal narratives, such as meeting significant challenges in male-dominated sectors, finding gaps in markets men might not see or juggling family life with ambitious, successful business goals and growth.
These stories are fantastic for creating engaging, persuasive presentations and investment cases for potential investors. Women are frequently driven in their entrepreneurial lives by a tremendous sense of purpose, often addressing societal or individual problems that have been historically underserved. These are all strong attributes that investors increasingly look for in businesses.
While some government initiatives are definitely steps in the right direction, they fall short of what’s needed. The Invest in Women Taskforce’s goal to establish a £250 million investment pot for female-led firms is a great start but a lot more is required. The Department for Business & Trade’s Female Founders programme, of which I’m an inaugural member, offers valuable access to venture capital networks but needs to be a first step to much wider programmes. Innovate UK’s recent decision to discontinue its special investment programme for female entrepreneurs was a disappointing decision. To create meaningful change, we need stronger government support, including expansion of programmes like the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme.
Creating meaningful change for woman-led companies requires consistent effort from all stakeholders – government, investors, and the business community. Only through collective action can we bridge the investment gap and unlock the full potential of female entrepreneurship in the UK.
Melissa Snover is CEO and founder of Nourished. It produces 3D-printed personalised-nutrition gummies and a range of tailored nutrition gummies for everything from the menopause to better sleep, immunity, skin health, and child health. For more information, visit
https://get-nourished.com/
