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Invest in Women Taskforce exceeds £250m target in capital raise
Joining forces with other major investors, BGF has committed to invest £25 million into female founders across the UK.
25 November 2024
The Invest in Women Taskforce has secured over £250 million of funding to support female entrepreneurs in the UK. This milestone exceeds the Taskforce’s initial ambitious goal of creating one of the world’s largest investment pools of £250 million for female-led and mixed businesses.
BGF has joined forces with other major investors, including Barclays, M&G, the British Business Bank, Morgan Stanley, the Visa Foundation and Aviva, to announce a commitment to invest in female-founded businesses across the country. Investments will either be made directly themselves or through the ‘Women backing Women’ fund.
A process has also been initiated to select a fund manager(s) to deploy the ‘Women backing Women’ fund capital.
The Invest in Women Taskforce is backed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in its mission to unlock future economic growth: if women started and scaled businesses at the same rate as men, it would deliver a potential £250 billion boost to the UK economy.
“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.”
Rachel Reeves
Chancellor of the Exchequer
Andy Gregory, CEO of BGF, commented: “We’re proud to commit £25 million to the Invest in Women Taskforce, underscoring BGF’s commitment to building a more inclusive investment landscape. As the UK’s leading institutional investor in female-led businesses, we recognise the immense potential of female founders to drive innovation and growth.
“We’re also dedicated to enhancing gender diversity within our investment teams and across the boards of our portfolio companies, breaking down barriers and driving meaningful change. This initiative is a crucial step towards bridging the funding gap, empowering female entrepreneurs, and unlocking long-term economic value for the UK.”
The investment pool will be deployed via female investment decision makers across the UK, recognising that female investors are twice as likely to invest in women-led and mixed businesses, breaking down the systemic barriers faced by female entrepreneurs and investors alike.
“Female entrepreneurs and investors have been side-lined for too long – they are two sides of the same coin. It’s time we rebooted the system and gave female investors the power to drive change, and the ‘Women backing Women’ funding pot is how we do it. I’m thrilled that investors from both the public and private sector have joined us and recognise the enormous opportunity here, but this is only the beginning. We need more investors to come aboard and join us on this journey.”
Debbie Wosskow
Entrepreneur & Co-Chair of the Invest in Women Taskforce
The announcement follows data from the Taskforce revealing that all-female founded businesses received just 1.8% (£145m) of the total value of equity investment in the first half of 2024 — a fall from 2.5% in 2023.
“Our funding partners not only recognise the moral imperative to drive systemic change for female investors and founders, they recognise that this also makes strong commercial sense. Studies show that female-led businesses generate 35% higher returns than male-led businesses. ‘Women backing Women’ is about changing the landscape of investment. I’m incredibly excited about what’s to come.”
Hannah Bernard
Head of Business Banking at Barclays & Co-Chair of the Invest in Women Taskforce
The Taskforce investment pool, and fund manager process for the ‘Women backing Women’ fund, was launched at an event on 25 November at Mansion House in London.
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