Despite the rise of women-owned businesses, the equity investment imbalance has been stuck for a decade. A SETsquared initiative hopes to change that.

Women-founded businesses have seen an increase across industries in 2023. There are now more in the market than ever before in the UK. Women own 20% of businesses, according to NatWest Group.

Despite the promising numbers, Serena Giaminardi, head of programmes at SETsquared, shares that there’s still work to be done: “Whilst this is fantastic news for female entrepreneurship, we also know that all-female-founded businesses in the UK receive only 2% of equity investment, a figure which hasn’t improved since 2011.”

SETsquared partners with universities across southern England to provide support to women owned tech start-ups. With University of Southampton, SETsquared is preparing for the Women’s Entrepreneurs Workout at Science Park on 6 and 7 March. The initiative features business model workshops, value proposition presentations, and an expert panel.

As participant applications now open, Giaminardi hopes the event will spark progress with women’s equity investment rates: “We want to start closing this gap. We are here to support them to get the backing and finance they need to thrive.”