Exclusive: Record number of women starting businesses despite funding challenges
A record number of female-owned companies have been created this year but women are still struggling to access funding, according to new research shared with Morning Wire
The data also found that London has the highest proportion of female-led businesses of any UK region.
Latest figures from The Gender Index, using data from analytics firm mnAI, showed women have created 160,730 new companies to date this year – bringing total active female-led firms to 874,730.
The number of new female-led firms is up from some 150,000 last year, which itself was a record, according to a major review by then Natwest boss Dame Alison Rose.
That review aimed to highlight the importance of the government-backed , which requires signatories to adopt practices that support women business leaders.
The code now has more than 200 signatories, up from 134 last year.
However, female-led companies still make up just 17.3 per cent of all UK firms, up 0.5 per cent from last year.
London has the highest proportion of female-led companies in the UK at 18.6 per cent, according to a Gender Index report earlier this year, and outstripped other regions to secure more than a third of total funding over the last two years.
The Gender Index is made up of business and academic leaders promoting gender equality, especially among entrepreneurs.
It has noted that female-led firms continue to struggle with accessing external funding and building fast-growth businesses.
Less than a quarter (23.4 per cent) of female-led companies accessed external capital this year, although this figure is up 14.8 per cent from last year.
Jill Pay, chair of The Gender Index, said: “More young women and ethnic minorities are raising external capital and running female-led companies than ever before, reflecting our belief that everyone regardless of age, race or gender should not face barriers to starting a business.
“We recognise that while inspirational women are accessing external capital and leading fast-growth companies, we will not rest until every female-led company can do the same.”