Investing in Women Code signatories widen support for female founders, report finds

Signatories to the Investing in Women Code continued to outperform the wider venture capital market in backing female-led businesses during 2025, according to the Government’s sixth annual progress report published today.

The report shows that firms signed up to the Code allocated a greater share of both investment deals and funding to female founders than the wider UK equity market for the sixth consecutive year, highlighting continued progress in tackling the long-standing funding gap for women entrepreneurs.

Launched in 2019 following the Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship, the Investing in Women Code aims to improve access to finance for female entrepreneurs by encouraging investors and lenders to adopt best practice and increase transparency around investment decisions. The British Business Bank is a founding signatory and manages the Code’s relationship with venture capital signatories.

According to the report, 33% of venture capital deals completed by Code signatories in 2025 involved businesses with at least one female founder, compared with 25% across the wider market.

The proportion of investment flowing to female-founded businesses also increased significantly. Businesses with at least one female founder received 32% of total venture capital investment from Code signatories in 2025, up from 27% the previous year. Across the wider equity market, the equivalent figure remained just 15%.

Support for all-female founding teams also continued to improve. These businesses received 6% of total investment from Code signatories, compared with 4% in 2023 and three times the 2% share recorded across the wider market.

The report also highlights the importance of diversity within investment firms themselves.

It found that investment committees with a female majority directed 11% of their deals to all-female founding teams, compared with 8% for majority-male committees. Similarly, where women made up the majority of an investment team, 13% of investment committee decisions supported all-female founders—almost double the 7% recorded by majority-male teams.

Alongside the report, the British Business Bank outlined a series of initiatives designed to improve access to finance for female entrepreneurs and investors.

Earlier this year, the Bank launched its £400 million Investor Pathways Capital programme, which is designed to support first-time and emerging fund managers from diverse backgrounds, with a target of allocating 50% of investment to female investors. The first round of funding has already committed up to £90 million to ten new fund managers, with women representing 57% of the General Partners in the initial cohort.

The Bank has also committed £130 million to female-led funds through its existing programmes, including a £100 million pledge to the Invest in Women Taskforce and a further £30 million investment into the Taskforce’s Women Backing Women Fund of Funds. The fund has already made its first investments into three female-led venture capital funds.

In addition, the British Business Bank is introducing pre-application drop-in sessions for emerging female investors, including angel investors, general partners and fund managers, to help improve confidence and understanding before entering the formal application process.

Kristen McLeod, Chief Strategy Officer at the British Business Bank, said: “This year’s findings show that the Investing in Women Code is helping to gradually shift the dial, but it’s clear there is much more to do.

“Through the Bank’s work, from backing the Invest in Women Taskforce to committing significant funding to the next generation of female fund managers through Investor Pathways Capital, the British Business Bank is focused on widening access to finance and knocking down barriers so that more and more female founders can reach their full potential.”

Blair McDougall, Minister for Small Business, added: “For the sixth year in a row, Investing in Women Code signatories have outperformed the wider market, showing that backing female founders is good for business and good for growth.

“Yet women-led businesses still face greater barriers to funding and growth. That is why the Code matters – helping more women start, scale and succeed, while unlocking talent, creating jobs and strengthening the UK economy.”

Over six years of reporting, the Investing in Women Code has become one of the UK’s most comprehensive datasets on gender and access to finance and has influenced similar initiatives internationally, including the World Bank’s We-Fi programme, which has now been adopted in more than 35 countries.