Here are five ways the next UK government could support female entrepreneurs

An organisation that champions female-led and -owned businesses has launched a new manifesto laying out ways the next UK government can develop and support women’s enterprise and boost the economy by billions of pounds.

Women’s Enterprise Scotland (WES) has unveiled its 2024 Manifesto for Accelerating Action on Economic Growth, which it says focuses on the “critical” importance of unlocking the opportunity female entrepreneurship represents.

The move, which follows the recent launch of the WES Survey Report, comes in the run-up to the UK general election on July 4, and focuses on five priority areas, comprising dedicated business support for women; robust access to business funding; access to care; financial inclusion; and mandatory assessments, data, and monitoring.

WES notes, for example that women start their businesses with 53 per cent less capital than men, while just 2 per cent of venture capital has over the last decade been received by female founder teams. It also said 48 per cent of women survey respondents have never contributed to a pension while running their business, and 61 per cent are using savings to fund it.

The organisation (which in April announced a tie-up with Edinburgh’s Napier University) noted that women-led businesses currently contribute £8.7 billion to the Scottish economy every year and account for 235,000 jobs, but the percentage of women-led employer businesses has now dropped to 22 per cent.

WES added that its recently published Women in Enterprise Survey revealed structural inequalities stifling an ongoing ambition for growth amongst Scotland’s women entrepreneurs, with nearly three-quarters of respondents viewing dedicated support for women as vital to realising their business aspirations. Furthermore, two-thirds felt they had experienced discrimination as a women entrepreneur, almost double the level reported in 2016.

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WES CEO Carolyn Currie says: 'We are calling on all parties and candidates for the 2024 United Kingdom elections to prioritise the immense economic potential that women’s enterprise represents.' Picture: Malcolm Cochrane Photography.

In addition, new data from Bibby Financial Services’ latest small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) confidence tracker, which surveyed 1,000 such firms across the UK, found that 66 per cent of women business leaders believed banks are less prepared to lend to businesses like theirs, while 57 per cent said it’s more difficult to access external finance than six months previously.

WES chief executive Carolyn Currie said: “We are calling on all parties and candidates for the 2024 United Kingdom elections to prioritise the immense economic potential that women’s enterprise represents. The Covid-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis have exposed significant fault lines in our economy, including a gap between strategic commitments on change and the business-as-usual routing of resources and support. Accelerated action is needed to ensure resources are allocated fairly, and women can make their rightful contribution to our economy.

“Research continues to highlight the challenges that women in enterprise face, including significant lending inequalities, which are hampering their growth ambitions. We simply must prioritise the five key action areas in our manifesto if we want to grow our economy.”

Female entrepreneurship is also being put under the spotlight in Deloitte’s 2024 Fast 50 Awards, which is calling from entries from Scottish tech businesses, and also has a Women in Leadership category.