Recommendation 15

HM Government · verbatim extract Accepted

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.