Women overtake men in UK start-up volumes for first time ever – NatWest data shows

The Rose Review Progress Report on Female Entrepreneurship report was conducted by data provider mnAI led by NatWest chief executive, Alison Rose.

MnAI hired Rose to conduct an independent review of female entrepreneurship and female-led corporations over the past three years.

It found that across the UK, female startups are growing by a third each year with the proportion of companies created by young women growing faster than any other age group. The age group of 16 to 25 has the most female business launches with 14,000 starting in the past year.

More women than ever are starting new businesses, with 145,200 all-female-led incorporations in 2021, up from 56,200 in 2018. Also included in this progress is the number of signatories to the investing in Women’s Code, a group of 134 institutions with an investment power of nearly £1 trillion. The signatories have grown by over 50 per cent and have a commitment to improving access to finance for female-led entrepreneurs.

The report also highlighted that if women started and grew their businesses at the same rate as men then up to £250bn of new value could be added to the UK economy.

However, the report did online the difficulties and challenges faced by women during the pandemic. It highlighted that women spent twice as long as men on caring responsibilities during the pandemic in comparison to men. This has a negative effect on their businesses and meant they took longer to recover.  Women spent 6 to 10 hours in comparison to zero to five for their male counterparts and they were 62 per cent less likely to have their business recover from Covid-19.

The report has resulted in members of the Rose Review taking on extra measures to boost support for female entrepreneurs including the launch of a nationwide Women Backing Women campaign from the Women Angel Investment Taskforce. There will also be an expansion to schemes that provide networking and mentoring opportunities over the next three years.

Rose review

Ms Rose said: “We have seen real progress since 2019. Getting more funding to female entrepreneurs and unlocking their untapped potential continues to be a priority across our industry. But women still don’t receive all the support they need and the pandemic risks holding back progress, so we must go further to achieve the goals of the Rose Review.

“Data shows that more women than ever are starting new businesses and we must harness this potential,” she said.

Mrs Rose added: “That means more financial institutions committing to delivering change and funding. We also need more direct support for businesses across the UK and we must propose fresh, imaginative solutions to the challenges posed by women’s caring responsibilities.”

Small Business Minister, Paul Scully MP said: “This report shows women are shattering the entrepreneurial glass ceiling, which is a huge step forward in ensuring our economy and society is making the best use of all our talents.

“I’m looking forward to furthering progress.”