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Women Backing Women

Encouraging more women to angel invest

 

Championing the UK’s women angel investors

Behind the Campaign

Women Backing Women is a campaign launched in 2022 by the Women Angel Investment Taskforce. The campaign is an initiative sprung out of the Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship to increase the number of women becoming angel investors and to expand the female angel ecosystem across the UK. The taskforce is led by Jenny Tooth OBE, Executive Chair of the UK Business Angels Association and Yvonne Greeves, Director of Women in Business at NatWest Group operates as co-chair.

The Women Backing Women campaign is a flagship project led by the Women Angel Investment Taskforce to inspire, educate and support women across the UK to become business angels and early-stage investors. By increasing the number of female angels, the campaign’s intention is that more female founders across the UK will have a better chance to access funding to scale their business, wherever they are based. This mission feeds into the Rose Review’s target to increase funding allocation to women in the UK and to create an environment which encourages and enables 600,000 more women to found businesses by the end of the decade.

The Women Backing Women campaign collaborates with angel investor groups and key ecosystem players already working on the ground across the UK, including in Wales, Scotland and the North, who know their regional and national landscape better than anyone else.

Women Backing Women Conference 2023

This conference is organised by UKBAA in partnership with the Women Angel Investment Task Force and the Women Backing Women campaign.

Find out more

Women Angel Insights: The impact of female angels on the UK economy

Women Angel Insights

Developed by Beauhurst, in partnership with UKBAA and supported by NatWest, this new report explores the impact of female angels across the UK

Download Report

The latest data

The UK Business Angels Association and Beauhurst have joined together to explore the vital role women angel investors have in the UK. In a newly launched report, it is highlighted that more than 5,000 women are making angel investments in every nation and region in the country, helping to create over 10,000 jobs in the past decade.

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£2bn total value of investment including woman angels in UK companies

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Almost 25% of all companies backed by female angels, were female-founded

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Just 14% of angel investors in the UK are women 

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Women angel investors have helped create over 10,000 jobs in the past decade

Women Angel Insights Report

The Women Angel Angel Insights: The impact of female angels on the UK economy report is a vital piece of research that demonstrates the huge contribution that female angel investors are making across the UK to building successful entrepreneurs in our economy.

“One of the key challenges we face is the continuing low proportion of female angel investors, which limits the pool of equity capital available to support entrepreneurial growth and innovation. Notably, our research and experience has shown that growing the number of female angels will directly increase the level of investment in female entrepreneurs.” 

Jenny Tooth OBE, Chief Executive, UKBAA

Download Infographic

Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship 2023

On 22nd February, 2023, the latest finds from the Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship launched. The findings demonstrate significant progress and illuminate the many important initiatives that will continue across the early-stage investments space.  

Women founded more than 150,000 new companies last year despite a more challenging economic environment. The resilience of female entrepreneurs is underlined by data which shows that female founders started more firms in 2022 than ever before. The figures are published today in the Rose Review Progress Report 2023, which sets fresh goals to provide record levels of support for female entrepreneurs and drive up the numbers of female angel investors.

The Report illustrates 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.

Spotlight video raising awareness of the EIS/SEIS schemes

An important new video has launched to enable many more women founders and investors across the UK to understand the benefits of the EIS and SEIS scheme.

Watch Video

Events & Activities

Since the launch of the Women Backing Women campaign, there has been a flurry of activity across the UK. From workshops and educational sessions to networking and more, women across the regions have been spotlighting this incredible asset class. Many further events are planned for the coming months – stay tuned!

Why YOU should consider becoming an angel investor
Interview

Women, STEM & Investment: Closing the Gender Gap
Spotlight video

Investing in Women Code

The Investing in Women Code 2023 Report
The Third Annual Report has launched

Raising awareness of the EIS/SEIS schemes
Part of the Alison Rose Review

International Women's Day

International Women’s Day 2023
Spotlight article

Making Angel Investment Accessible for Women
Event by Mint Ventures (Edinburgh)

Making Angel Investment Accessible for Women
Event by Mint Ventures (Aberdeen)

Women angels unite to invest in women in Wales
Read full article

New approach for women in entrepreneurship
Women in entrepreneurship in Scotland report

Women Angel Insights report launch event
Watch event recording

Launch of Female Angel Insights Report
UKBAA, Beauhurst, NatWest

The A-Z of angel investing for women workshop
UKBAA

Angel workshop: Ask us anything on EIS
Angel Academe

Addressing the lack of female business angels in Wales
Angels Invest Wales

Women angels of the North 
Fund Her North, NorthInvest, Innovation Supernetwork

Investing in Women Code Annual Report 2022 launch 
UKBAA, BBB, BEIS

Women Angels Investor Education
In-person event – Leeds

Pathways: A new approach for women in entrepreneurship in Scotland

This report seeks to change how we think about the under-participation of women in entrepreneurship, to more rapidly and effectively move our society away from its current extreme gender imbalance in this field of endeavour.

Read report

Spotlighting Leading Women Angels

Female angel investors have helped drive more than £2bn of investment in companies across the UK in the past decade. We are spotlighting some of the UK’s leading women angels who are making waves in early-stage investment.

Andrea Sinclair
UKBAA Angel of the Year ’22

Deepali Nangia
UKBAA angel of the year ’21

Helen Oldham
Founding board director, NorthInvest

Heather Frankham
Angel Investor, Bristol Private Equity Club

Mary McKenna
Angel Investor

June Angelides MBE
Investor, Samos VC

Rupa Popat
Founder, Araya Ventures

LT

Louise Tait
Angel Investor, MINT Ventures

Dr Pamela Walker
Angel Investor, Angel Academe

Kanika Goela
Angel Investor, Angel Academe

Lynne Ross
Chair, Gabriel Investments

Jordan Dargue
Co-founder, Women Angels of the North

Marla Shapiro
Founder, HERmesa

Sarah Turner
CEO & Co-founder, Angel Academe

PamGarside

Pamela Garside
Chair, Cambridge Angels

Emma Cohen
Angel Investor, Alma Angels

Resources

From industry-leading reports to helpful guides and studies, we have drawn together a host of host of resources to underpin the importance of increasing the number women angels in the UK

Finding What Works
Finding What Works

The Finding What Works report, undertaken by the British Business Bank in partnership with SQW, provides three clear, actionable, and evidence-based pathways for UK funds to improve diversity in venture capital investment.

Find out more
The Investing in Women Code 2023 Report
The Investing in Women Code 2023 Report

The Code was founded in 2019 as a landmark government-lead initiative in response to the Rose Review’s findings that a lack of funding continues to be one of the most significant barriers to women seeking to effectively scale a business.

Find out more
Investing Diversity Best Practice Guidance
Investing Diversity Best Practice Guidance

The Angel Investing in Diversity Best Practice Guidance was developed by UKBAA to provide angels with actions that can be taken to support investment in diversity and strategies for good practice.

Find out more
The Rose Review Progress Report 2022
The Rose Review Progress Report 2022

The Rose Review Progress Report 2022 on female entrepreneurship, was published on 28th February 2022 and sets out the full extent of progress made since the inaugural report published in 2019. 

Find out more
Investing in Women Code Annual Report 2022
Investing in Women Code Annual Report 2022

The Investing in Women Code report includes data collected by finance providers in 2021 and features the actions taken to support women entrepreneurs with the tools, resources and finance needed to achieve their goals.

Find out more
The Rose Review Progress Report 2022
The Rose Review Progress Report 2022

The Rose Review Progress Report 2022 on female entrepreneurship, was published on 28th February 2022 and sets out the full extent of progress made since the inaugural report published in 2019. 

Find out more
Investing in Women Code Annual Progress Report 2021
Investing in Women Code Annual Progress Report 2021

The Investing in Women Code is a commitment to support the advancement of female entrepreneurship in the United Kingdom by improving female entrepreneurs’ access to tools, resources and finance.

Find out more
The Barriers and Opportunities for Women Angel Investing in Europe
The Barriers and Opportunities for Women Angel Investing in Europe

The aim of this research was to understand the common characteristics and drivers of women who do invest and to understand the barriers and challenges for women who do not invest.

Find out more
The Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship
The Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship

The first annual Rose Review report details the initiatives and actions taken to help tap into the huge and unrealised economic potential of female entrepreneurs in the UK.

Find out more
The Barriers and Opportunities for Women Angel Investing in Europe
The Barriers and Opportunities for Women Angel Investing in Europe

The aim of this research was to understand the common characteristics and drivers of women who do invest and to understand the barriers and challenges for women who do not invest.

Find out more

The Women Backing Women Community

The Women Backing Women campaign collaborates with angel investor groups and key ecosystem players working on the ground across the UK, including in Wales, Scotland and the North. The campaign is connecting and celebrating women angels across the UK.

Women Angel Investment Taskforce

The Women Backing Women campaign was launched by the Women Angel Investment Taskforce to tackle the lack of women engaging in angel investment. 

The taskforce brings together key players from across the UK:

Jenny Tooth OBE, UKBAA & Co-Chair Women Angel Investment Taskforce
Deepali Nangia, Speedinvest and Alma Angels
Helen Oldham, NorthInvest and Fund Her North
Debbie Wosskow OBE, Allbright
Shanika Amarasekara MBE, British Business Bank
Rhian Elston, Development Bank of Wales
Prof. Lynne Cadenhead, Women’s Enterprise Scotland and Mint Ventures
Mary McKenna MBE, Angel Investor, Awaken Hub Northern Ireland
Stephen Pegge, UK Finance
Yvonne Greeves, NatWest and Co-Chair Women Angel Investment Task force
Gurpreet Manku, BVCA
Cate Poulson, BGF 

How to get involved

If you would like to be part of this movement, get in touch. From hosting a networking or education event to how you can join an angel group, launch your own syndicate, or help spread the word on this important initiative – let’s work together. 

 

Share your details below and how you would like to get involved and we’ll be in touch.