Petition to help more female entrepreneurs gathers momentum

With less than one per cent of venture capital (VC) funding in the UK going to female entrepreneurs, yet with one in four women are trying to launch a new business since the pandemic, action is needed to address the balance, petition founder urges

The co-founder of an organisation set up to champion female entrepreneurs and business leaders is one step closer to changing government legislation on venture capital funding thanks to the snowballing success of an online petition.

Sarah King, co-founder and CEO of we are radikl, launched the ‘Over being Underfunded' campaign last month with the aim of changing how the government supports women in business and encouraging more women to apply for the investment they deserve.

The campaign has seen the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) throw its weight behind it, and over 400 signatures added to the list so far, with more high profile support soon to be announced.

The prime target is a scheme called the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) which fuels investment in start-ups. Although, to date, over £1bn has been invested, a lot of people, especially women, are unaware of its very existence.

Speaking to CRN, King [pictured], said: "We are asking for something that has the potential to be incredibly impactful. We are hoping to influence change in the Treasury and HMRC to make the scheme more accessible to women."

The current situation looks even bleaker when taking into account the fact that just 0.02 per cent of VC funding goes to minority women-led businesses, and only one black woman CEO has secured Series A funding in the last 10 years.

Anyone asking for a VC injection through SEIS has to have an investment-ready business within two years of their first trading date, but we are radikl claims this rigid timeframe is unfair to women who are trying to juggle family and work, while setting up a new business, meaning they are missing out.

The petition is asking for an extra year to be added into the timescale to give more women a chance to secure much-needed investment and also for gender reporting on SEIS to be introduced for both entrepreneurs and investors.

King added: "I think the investment world has been built by men for men. Whether that is intentional or with an unconscious bias - the issue is that there is a group of needs that has not been recognised when building this ecosystem.

"Also, a lot of women don't actually see themselves as entrepreneurs and many of them are good at bootstrapping their businesses. When you don't see yourself in the system, then you can't benefit from it," she said.

But the good thing about extending the deadline is that it will help both men and women. A government-commissioned report by Alison Rose in 2019, claimed that, if funded properly, female-led businesses could boost the overall UK economy by a whopping £250bn if they started a business and scaled at the same rate as UK men.

we are radikl's King said a lot of men have also come out in support of the petition.

"This isn't just a campaign for women - it is about gender equality and to make sure we all have the opportunity to add to that, however we identify. Many of the men I talk to have been appalled by the stats. We are getting closer each week to having the conversation with the right people in government."

As well as the petition, we are radikl is also encouraging wannabe investors to throw their weight behind a crowdfunding initiative to support more female entrepreneurs and sponsor business bootcamps.

"We are also having conversations with many female business owners who have not considered VC investment before, either as an entrepreneur or as an investor themselves. They are asking us for help with their pitch deck, or are looking at seed funding and asking if it is something they can do," King added.

Sapphire CEO Annabel Berry is one channel exec who is backing the campaign.

"I previously had no idea about the scale of the issue here and the statistics are shocking. My involvement with we are radikl, and the crucial work they are doing with women business leaders has inspired me to want to be involved and to help promote these issues. It's very frustrating, however, that we're still having to have these discussions in 2021," she said.

"Supporting this campaign isn't just about equality and diversity, it's also a sensible and much-needed economic discussion that would give a considerable boost to the UK economy in the coming years, which benefits everyone. We need to remove any barriers and obstacles getting in the way of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship, as a business leader, why wouldn't I be interested in supporting that?"

To sign the petition and to find out more about becoming an investor, click here.