Latest news with #InvestinWomenTaskforce
Scotsman
23-07-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
How to close the gender gap in Scotland's tech economy
If the tech start-up communtiy continues to be male-dominated, then we risk reinforcing old biases with new tools, writes Amy Burnett Sign up to our Scotsman Money newsletter, covering all you need to know to help manage your money. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Scotland's tech sector is brimming with potential. From AI breakthroughs in Aberdeen to fintech ventures in Edinburgh, the ecosystem is dynamic, ambitious and vital to our economy. But amid this progress, there is an issue that remains stubbornly unresolved: too few women are leading, growing and scaling tech businesses. This isn't a new challenge, but it's becoming more urgent. We need to rethink how we support women in the technology sector (Picture: Mind the investment gap Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The numbers speak volumes. According to the UK Government's Invest in Women Taskforce, in 2024 all-female founded businesses received just 1.8 per cent of all UK venture capital funding, down from 2.5 per cent in 2023. That's not just an equity gap, it's an innovation gap. When women are excluded, there is less diversity of experience and opinion around the table, stifling potential and slowing progress. This exclusion is even more pronounced in the tech sector, which is rapidly reshaping how businesses operate. According to the World Bank, women hold less than a third of all tech roles in the UK. At the top, the gap widens further: fewer than one in ten CIOs or CTOs are women, according to the WomenTech Network. The lack of representation matters, especially in Scotland, where our latest Private Enterprise Barometer shows over half (52 per cent) of firms see technology as critical to their future success and 70 per cent plan to invest in AI. If the tech-start up community continues to be male-dominated, then we risk reinforcing old biases with new tools. If we're serious about building a fairer, more future-ready economy with innovations like AI, we need to ask: who gets to lead the revolution? Amy Burnett, KPMG Emerging Giants Lead – Scotland (Picture: Mike Wilkinson) Inclusive innovation is smart economics Women must be at the forefront of that change. Unlocking the full potential of this tech revolution means rethinking how we support women in tech – creating platforms that not only welcome them but actively champion their success. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The barriers are well-known: access to capital, smaller networks, less visibility. But they're not insurmountable. With the right support – accelerators, investor networks, mentoring – they can be broken down. Talent, too, is critical. With 55 per cent of Scottish firms confident they can recruit the tech talent they need, we're in a strong position. But building a competitive sector isn't just about hiring. It's about creating pathways for progression and ensuring women have the tools and backing to lead. Initiatives like 'Founded by Her' are part of the solution. We created it to support women founders through tailored advice, investment readiness training and access to a powerful network of peers, advisors, investors and founders. We have had 35 exceptional women founders participate in the Series A prep programme, and the next cohort opens for applications in October. The Scottish Government's 'Pathways: A New Approach for Women in Entrepreneurship' initiative is another important step. By addressing the structural barriers facing women in enterprise and putting forward clear recommendations for change, it's a sign that public policy is working to align with the needs of female founders across sectors, including those in tech. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ultimately championing women in tech will help Scottish businesses to achieve their growth potential. Our latest Barometer also found that 90 per cent are optimistic about their growth prospects this year, while over a third (35 per cent) are introducing new products and services. Technology will be at the heart of these strategies. That's why we urgently need to rethink how we fund, support and shine a light on women founders. Because closing the gender gap isn't just the right thing to do, it's how we future-proof Scotland's tech economy.
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
UK launches £500M package to support diverse, underrepresented investors and founders
The British Business Bank, owned by the UK government, is creating a £500 million (around $674 million) economic package to help support diverse and underrepresented fund managers and founders in the country. Fifty million pounds will be set aside for female-led venture funds, which means the BBB has now committed at least £100 million (around $135 million) to supporting female-led ventures and the government's Invest in Women Taskforce. Meanwhile, £400 million (around $539 million) will go to backing more diverse fund managers and supporting early-stage companies, as well as helping to boost the talent pipeline to provide those from disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunity to become investors. The package begins deployment in 2026. 'The initiative announced today aims to reduce the significant gap in venture capital investment for underrepresented founders and investors,' the BBB said in a press release announcing the investment last week. 'It will target at least 50% of investment going to female fund managers.' It comes as the U.K. continues its push to attract and sustain talent to its venture ecosystem. The press release states that 'breaking down barriers to opportunity will help drive growth as part of the government's Plan for Change,' which encompasses various strategies to help drive economic growth in the country. For women and people of color, the UK venture landscape can often be as disheartening as it is in the U.S. Around 13% of venture teams in the UK have women at a senior level, while dismal amounts of venture funding goes to minorities (less than 2% for Black founders as of a 2023 report, and 2 pence (around 3 cents) for every £1 ($1.35) invested goes to women.
TechCrunch
13-07-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
UK launches £500 package to support diverse, underrepresented investors and founders
The British Business Bank, owned by the UK government, is creating a £500 million (around $674 million) economic package to help support diverse and underrepresented fund managers and founders in the country. Fifty million pounds will be set aside for female-led venture funds, which means the BBB has now committed at least £100 million (around $135 million) to supporting female-led ventures and the government's Invest in Women Taskforce. Meanwhile, £400 million (around $539 million) will go to backing more diverse fund managers and supporting early-stage companies, as well as helping to boost the talent pipeline to provide those from disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunity to become investors. The package begins deployment in 2026. 'The initiative announced today aims to reduce the significant gap in venture capital investment for underrepresented founders and investors,' the BBB said in a press release announcing the investment last week. 'It will target at least 50% of investment going to female fund managers.' It comes as the U.K. continues its push to attract and sustain talent to its venture ecosystem. The press release states that 'breaking down barriers to opportunity will help drive growth as part of the government's Plan for Change,' which encompasses various strategies to help drive economic growth in the country. For women and people of color, the UK venture landscape can often be as disheartening as it is in the U.S. Around 13% of venture teams in the UK have women at a senior level, while dismal amounts of venture funding goes to minorities (less than 2% for Black founders as of a 2023 report, and 2 pence (around 3 cents) for every £1 ($1.35) invested goes to women.
Business News Wales
29-05-2025
- Business
- Business News Wales
Wales Set for £100m Business Investment as Part of BGF UK-Wide £3b Pledge
BGF, the UK's most active growth capital investor, has pledged £100 million to Welsh businesses as part of its £3 billion commitment to back high-potential companies across the UK over the next five years. This commitment builds on BGF's previous investment of £47 million in Wales since 2011. The firm's regional-first strategy is designed to help scale businesses in every part of the UK. As part of the £3 billion pledge, BGF has committed £300 million to female-powered businesses across the UK, one of the largest initiatives of its kind. This follows an initial £25 million pledge to the Invest in Women Taskforce (IWT), which contributed to raising over £250 million in 2023. Since 2011, BGF portfolio companies across the UK have generated £7.1 billion in revenue growth, £1 billion in export growth, and created more than 27,000 jobs. With 74% of BGF's capital deployed outside London and the South East, BGF's mission is centred on inclusive and regional economic growth and backing entrepreneurs. Hannah King, BGF investor, BGF, said: 'We're proud of our track record in Wales and excited to increase our investment through this £100 million commitment. Welsh businesses have enormous potential, and we're here to provide the capital and support to help them grow and scale sustainably.' This commitment is part of BGF's broader strategy to increase investment from the £2.3 billion deployed between 2020 and 2024, accelerating business scaleup across the UK.
Fashion United
27-05-2025
- Business
- Fashion United
BGF commits three billion pounds in investments for UK businesses
Barclays-founded BGF has outlined a three billion pound commitment to invest in high-potential UK businesses as it looks to scale support for growth in early-stage firms. Over the next five years, the firm, which has previously invested in fashion brands like Seasalt and Strathberry, wishes to back British businesses to help drive their success, the company's chief executive officer, Andy Gregory, said in a release. He continued: 'BGF is an investment platform built to solve a hard problem. With our platform advantage, we've proven we can deploy scaleup capital into a broad base of UK businesses, in a way that is commercially rigorous, regionally inclusive, and can help businesses grow in all conditions. 'Few investors have the nationwide reach to deploy capital at the scale required to make a meaningful difference to the UK's scaleup landscape, and this next phase is about leveraging our platform advantage to unlock even greater impact for UK plc.' As part of the pledge, BGF is dedicating 300 million pounds of the fund to supporting female-powered businesses, an extension of its prior 25 million pound commitment to the Invest in Women Taskforce initiative. In her own statement, Debbie Wosskow, co-chair of the Invest in Women Taskforce, said the investment is 'one of the largest ever made in the UK'. She added: 'It marks a turning point in how we back women-led enterprise and is exactly the kind of action that can start to reshape our business landscape for the better.'
