Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Acknowledged
Require Innovate UK to ringfence 30% of funding and reform processes for female entrepreneurs.
Conclusion
Public funding structures should challenge gender bias and not reinforce it. Innovate UK should: • ringfence a minimum of 30% of its funding for female entrepreneurs with year on year increases to 40% by 2030; 53 • in the short term lower leverage ratios and reduce match funding requirements for women-owned businesses to help level the playing field and allow equitable access to opportunity; • ensure gender-equitable assessment panels; • publish gender-disaggregated data on funding applications, approvals and allocations, that data should include information on ethnicity and disability of applicants; • recognise femtech as a high value sector; and • review programme design and application processes, critically evaluating them for potential forms of indirect discrimination that may act as barriers to female founders. (Recommendation, Paragraph 48)
Government Response Summary
The government welcomes the recommendations and highlights the British Business Bank's new Strategic Plan and existing programmes, such as Start Up Loans, which embed diversity and inclusion to support female entrepreneurs. It commits to continue working with partners to build a more inclusive finance environment but does not explicitly address the specific Innovate UK actions.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
We welcome the Committee’s focus on improving access to finance for female entrepreneurs and share the ambition of ensuring that innovative businesses can thrive regardless of the gender or background of their founders. The British Business Bank’s new Strategic Plan1 places a clear emphasis on unlocking the potential in people and places, supporting high-potential companies, whoever leads them and wherever they are based, to access the capital they need to start, scale and succeed. Within this framework, the Bank already embeds diversity and inclusion across its investment processes and partner assessments, ensuring that its interventions contribute to a more accessible and inclusive finance ecosystem. The Bank is delivering a substantial programme of activity that aligns strongly with the intent behind the Committee’s recommendations. This includes the Start Up Loans programme, which consistently supports a significantly higher share of female and ethnic minority entrepreneurs than the wider market; the expansion of the Angel Syndicate Programme, which is increasing the number of women and other underrepresented individuals participating as angel investors; and major initiatives such as the £400m Investor Pathways Capital scheme and the £100m commitment to female fund managers, deployed through existing Bank programmes. More recently, the Bank announced2 an additional £30m anchor investment in the Invest in Women Taskforce’s Women Backing Women Fund of Funds, which will broaden the diversity of decision-makers and help channel more capital to diverse founders. The Bank also continues to strengthen data collection and encourage responsible investment practices to promote greater transparency and best practice across the fund managers and lenders that it supports. We will continue to work closely with the Bank, the Invest in Women Taskforce and industry partners to build a more inclusive finance environment that supports women-led businesses across the UK. We welcome the Committee’s recommendations as a valuable contribution to this shared ambition, and we remain committed to ensuring that the Bank’s strategic plan delivers meaningful progress for female founders as part of a more dynamic and representative entrepreneurial ecosystem. We would 1 https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/about/research-and-publications/five-year- strategic-plan 2 https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/news-and-events/news/british-business-bank- agrees-commit-ps30-million-invest-women-taskforce-women-backing-women-fund encourage the Committee to meet representatives of the British Business Bank to hear more about its current work and forward planning in this space, and to support continued constructive engagement. Financial Conduct Authority