Celebrating first anniversary of the Invest in Women Taskforce

The Missing Slice: Celebrating £635m for Female Founders on Invest Women Taskforce First Anniversary

It has been one year since the Invest in Women Taskforce launched with a clear mission: to make the UK the best place in the world to be a female entrepreneur.

The IWT announced that they have convened £635 million in funding commitments, more than double their original target of £250 million to back female-led businesses. This makes it the largest initiative of its kind, marking a pivotal shift in the investment landscape.

Finding the Missing Slice

‍To mark the occasion, the Taskforce used a powerful visual: a cake from the female-founded Astrid Bakery with a slice missing. This "missing slice" represents the stark reality of the current market:

• Fully female-founded teams receive just 2% of equity investment.

• This inequality results in a £250 billion missed opportunity for the UK economy.

• This is despite the fact that female-led businesses deliver 35% higher returns than male-led businesses.

Government Backing & Strategic Growth

The initiative has received strong support from the highest levels of government. Chancellor Rachel Reeves emphasized the economic importance of this mission:

"Growth is this government’s number one mission, and I am backing female-powered business not only because it’s critical for our economy but because it is the right thing to do."

“As the first female chancellor in the UK I have committed to improving economic outcomes for women, from lifting the two child benefit cap to breaking down barriers and opening pathways for women to start, scale, and invest in businesses across Britain.”

Hannah Bernard, Co-Chair of the Taskforce and Head of Business Banking at Barclays, highlighted the momentum but acknowledged the road ahead:

“Female-led businesses deliver 35% higher returns than male-led businesses, and play an essential role in supporting UK growth, so this is not only the right thing to do, but a commercial imperative. We need to quickly address the gender balance of both investment committees and their capital deployment, and continue to highlight the positive economic impact that women deliver.”

While the £635 million is a massive step forward, the ultimate goal is to dismantle the barriers that have historically prevented women from scaling their ventures.

Debbie Wosskow, multi-exit entrepreneur and co-chair of the Invest in Women Taskforce, said:

“Reaching first close will be a huge milestone and we’re incredibly proud of the progress made so far, with more than £70 million deployed by partner programmes this year.

“We have worked tirelessly to build the funding pool over the past year, the largest of its kind in the world. But c.80% of UK venture capital still goes to all-male teams. Studies show that diverse teams deliver stronger returns – so what are we waiting for?”

Introducing a Female Enterprise Investment Scheme was one of 26 recommendations in a report by the Women and Equalities Committee earlier this year.

The 'Women Backing Women' Fund

‍One of the most significant developments announced is the 'Women Backing Women' Fund of Funds, managed by Bootstrap 4F. Proud to see leading investors committed to the IWT funding pool: Barclays, M&G, Visa Foundation, British Business Bank, BGF, Morgan Stanley, Aviva Ventures, and Nationwide.

The fund-of-funds structure is the critical architectural change needed to capture the returns women deliver:

• Unlocks UK institutional capital by giving pension funds diversified, professionally managed access to VC - enabling capital to flow where it wouldn’t otherwise. Fund-of-funds structures also counteract the “look-alike” effect by backing more diverse managers, because women invest in women.
• Strengthens the UK’s venture pipeline by anchoring first-time and specialist funds across regions and sectors, supporting scale-ups and economic growth.
• Builds strategic resilience by pooling capital into critical technologies and helping high-growth companies scale from the UK rather than abroad.
The "missing slice" is finally being reclaimed. We are incredibly proud to support the Taskforce’s mission to create systemic change in the investment landscape.

📖 Read the full report, The Missing Slice here.

‍