Women entrepreneurs on the rise in UK

The report also revealed that a fifth of new incorporations last year were all-female-led, a figure that has risen from 16 per cent in 2018. The biggest leap in new female-led firms was among those established by 16–25-year-old founders, numbers of which rose by almost a quarter. 

The resilience of female entrepreneurs is underlined by data that showed that female founders started more firms in 2022 than ever before.

The report illustrated the advances made since the Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship was launched in 2019. More than twice as many companies led by women were created last year as in 2018.

However, the report sets out the importance of increasing the support available for female founders in the face of economic headwinds.

A total of 190 financial services institutions have now made formal commitments to improve female entrepreneurs’ chances of success by signing the Investing in Women Code, up from 134 in the previous year.

New signatories include savings and investment company M&G, lender Funding Circle and technology venture capital firm IQ Capital. Backers of the code represent over £1 trillion in assets under management. The code requires them to adopt best practices to benefit female entrepreneurs and share data on their performance with government.

The Rose Review also announced that it aims to provide female entrepreneurs with 3 million places on programmes and opportunities to access direct support over three years.

In 2022, the review’s partners created 800,000 opportunities to access schemes and support including networking events, mentorship, and masterclasses.

The Rose Review is also committing to grow the pool of female angel investors from 14 per cent to 30 per cent of the total number of UK angels by 2030 through the work of the Women Angel Investment Taskforce, such as the Women Backing Women campaign. Work is underway across the country to support more women in offering early-stage investment.

Alison Rose, chief executive of NatWest Group and author of the Rose Review, said in the coming year the Rose Review will continue to provide fresh initiatives offering mentorship, guidance, and inspiration for founders, alongside securing new commitments from financial services institutions to make it easier for female-led companies to access vital capital.

“By listening closely to entrepreneurs and acting on what they tell us, we will provide backing to help them grow their networks, secure finance and achieve their goals,” she said.