Scotland's female entrepreneurs add £268m to economy

Women-led businesses across Scotland contributed £268 million to the UK's economy in 2015, according to a study from Royal Bank of Scotland.

Alison Rose of RBS said more needs to be done to 'power the growth' of female-led firms. Picture: Contributed

The lender’s research showed that female entrepreneurs in Glasgow generated an economic boost of £67m, with those in Edinburgh contributing £52m.

The study, carried out in partnership with Development Economics, revealed that women set up 1,900 firms in Glasgow during the year, with a further 1,400 launched in Edinburgh.

But it also showed that, while the proportion of the UK’s female working population starting a business nearly doubled to 7.1 per cent between 2009 and 2012, this growth has since tailed off and stood at less than 5 per cent in 2015.

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Alison Rose, chief executive for corporate, commercial and private banking at RBS, said: “We know entrepreneurs are vital to the economy and it’s fantastic to see just how much women contribute, but it’s clear we need to do more to power this growth in the same way our global counterparts do.”

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