Invest in Women Taskforce

📢 𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵, 𝘄𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 £𝟮𝟱𝟬 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 📢   The response we have received has been nothing short of extraordinary. Fund of Fund Managers, General Partners, and founders alike have reached out with questions and messages of support – proving just how vital this initiative is in transforming the investment landscape.   📽️ 𝗪𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 ‘𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻’ 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂? 📽️ ️ To help answer that, we sat down with the co-chairs of the Invest in Women Taskforce. In this video, they explore the transformative potential of the Women backing Women fund and what this means for each of you.   Please stay tuned for updates on our LinkedIn as we continue to progress the funding activity. As Debbie Wosskow, OBE so aptly mentions “We’ve made a start, but this is just the beginning”...    Reminder that our Request for Proposal process is OPEN for Fund of Fund Managers until the 23rd of December – find out more information on how to submit here: https://lnkd.in/eHDP3ChX   Debbie Wosskow, OBE, Hannah Bernard OBE   #InvestinWomen #WomenbackingWomen #Funding #Investing

𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐅𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐬 – 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 This year’s International Women's Day (IWD) theme, “Accelerate Action” is more than just a call to celebrate women – it’s a challenge to drive real change for women in business, investment and leadership. At the Invest in Women Taskforce, action is what we do and throughout March, we’ll be highlighting: • 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 – Showcasing how banks, investors, industry bodies and partners are supporting female entrepreneurs • 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 & 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 – From panels to intimate fireside chats, we’re taking this message to decision-makers. • 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 – because real change requires action at every level. In the picture attached you’ll find just some of the open events our members are hosting throughout the month of March to celebrate International Women's day! Why does this IWD theme “Accelerate Action” matter to you, and how are you celebrating it? #IWD2025 #AccelerateAction #InvestinWomen Hannah Bernard OBE, Debbie Wosskow, OBE

Astia is an investment firm that only backs companies with at least one female leader. What we love about them is their “blind pitch” process 👀 Research has shown that investors treat male and female founders differently. The second a women walks into the room, perceptions are formed and biases influence the approach investors take. This has become so common that there’s now even a term for it: “investor homophily”. What the term means is an investor’s tendency to invest in people who look, sound, and feel similar to themselves. ❌ To combat this, Astia encourages companies to pitch blind on its website. Applications are screened by advisers and software at this stage. The next round is a cameras-off presentation online to further eliminate biases based on how someone looks. The whole process’ goal is to eliminate “gut-based decisions”. This strategy appears to work as companies that get through this process have a shockingly low 1.5% failure rate vs the 90% that startups usually face. Evie Mulberry, the fund’s managing partner says: The problem is not women — it’s the barriers within investment and networks. We’re not here to ‘fix’ women, but to change the ecosystem.” The IWT isn’t partnered with Astia but this is the kind of mid-week inspiration we can definitely get behind 🙌🏻

Did you know FTSE 350 companies with no women on their executive committees had a profit margin of just 1.4%? Whereas those with over 50% female representation have achieved a margin of 17.15%. Having women in the room isn’t just the right thing to do for DEI but for achieving business goals too. Gender-balanced executive committees in the FTSE 350 could boost the UK’s GDP by 2.5%. 🚀 Investing in women pays off! 📹 from Department for Business and Trade’s LinkedIn

We asked our co-chair Debbie Wosskow, OBE what her 3 best tips for female founders are 🤔 This is what she said 📣 1️⃣ Know your numbers inside out. Investors grill female founders more than male founders. So it’s critical you know your financials like the back of your hand. 2️⃣ Make sure you invest in your network and build meaningful connections 🔌 We all need people to mention our names in rooms we aren’t in. We all need others to highlight opportunities we might otherwise miss! 3️⃣ In 2025, the best story wins. The competition in business is cutthroat. Getting comfortable telling a compelling story is key to creating a lasting impression in peoples’ minds, and standing out. What’s the best business advice you’ve received that you want to share with our community? Feel free to discuss in the comments 💬

The IWT has been in Scotland these past few days 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 5 quick facts about the Scotland investment landscape: → Scotland has the highest representation of female and mixed teams relative to other nations. → There are 303k active businesses in Scotland, which is 5.5% of the total businesses in the UK. → £8 billion could be added to Scotland’s economy if women were to start and scale their business at the same rate as men. → 14% of high-growth business in Scotland are female founded! → But, just 1.8% of equity investment in Scotland went to fully female founded teams last year. Our research in Scotland confirmed that the nation has immense talent and potential but it now needs the right financial backing to support it. If you have any inspirational female founders based in Scotland - tag them below! 💭

Important conversations happening... 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

The Invest in Women Taskforce is on the road – and we’re here in Scotland! Our Co-chairs Hannah Bernard OBE and Debbie Wosskow, OBE met with Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes, Ana Stewart of Pathways Forward and alongside key leaders from Financial Services, enterprise organisations and investors to discuss the funding landscape for female entrepreneurs. The data is clear: fully female-founded businesses in Scotland received just 1.8% of equity investment in 2024. This is a challenge that we cannot ignore. Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said: “𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘵𝘩. 𝘈𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦-𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥 £2.6 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 2024-25 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘢𝘱 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦’𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘉𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘍𝘶𝘯𝘥’𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳.” The roundtable event focused on tangible solutions including the Taskforce’s Women backing Women fund and other initiatives that could unlock capital and support for female founders and investors. Scotland has the talent, the ambition, and the potential – now, it’s about ensuring the right financial support is in place to match it. This is just the beginning… Hannah Bernard OBE, Debbie Wosskow, OBE, Pathways Forward, Kate Forbes MSP

❌ Female entrepreneurs and investors have been sidelined for too long! ❌ It’s high time we rebooted the system and gave female investors the power to drive change. The bottleneck for female founders in 2025 remains a lack of access to funding. And even when they do get a way in - they find themselves pitching their business to rooms full of men. This makes little sense especially when the product and the company’s mission is tailored to solving problems other women face. The answer? 🤔 🤔 🤔 Creating more female investors! We love our male allies - but the fact is that female investors twice as likely to back female founders. That’s why putting more money in the hands of female investors and helping women start investing as angels is a big focus of the IWT this year. When there’s a potential £250bn waiting to be unlocked by supporting female-powered businesses… The stakes have never been higher!

👏🏻 👏🏻 The IWT’s Ecosystem Working Group, led by our co-chair Hannah Bernard OBE has been hard at work. It’s goal in the long run is simple yet profound: 30% of businesses being female-powered by 2030 ✅ We believe in having bold goals with a clear plan of action. Here’s how we’re targeting achieving this number: Step 1️⃣: Transform The Pipeline We want to enable more women to start businesses and drive awareness of support available to them. Let’s break down barriers to entrepreneurship that prevent female founders from scaling. Step 2️⃣: Create The Right Conditions We’re aiming to set the right environment for female-powered businesses to grow — through provision of skills, networks and opportunities across the UK. Step 3️⃣: Bring Systemic Change The EWG with the motto of “enable the ecosystem” is focused on identifying and advocating for policy recommendations to address systemic barriers faced by female entrepreneurs and investors. Together, by harnessing the power of cross-industry collaboration and expertise, let’s make the UK the best place in the world to be a female founder!