Currently 18% of all trading businesses in the UK belong to women, while 20% of new corporations in 2023 were female founded, according to Roxanne Goodman, founder of Female Founder Finance.
Goodman spoke at ‘Opening Doors for Women in Finance’, an event run by Together on 21st March in Manchester.
She highlighted that the risk of default for female founded businesses made them safer to lend to – 2.9% of administrations in the past 12 months were female-led businesses.
Drilling down into construction as an example, Goodman pointed out that only one in 20 businesses in this sector are led by women, but “ironically, female-led construction businesses are the most successful.”
Goodman highlighted recent British Business Bank data on loan approvals analysed by gender, which found that male-led businesses received on average £507,000 for every loan application they make, whereas female-led businesses received £174,000.
Goodman joined chair Tanya Elmaz, director of intermediary sales at Together, as well as fellow speakers Rosalia Lazzara, CEO of Manuka Media, and Sarah Furness, ex-RAF pilot and founder of Well Be It.
The most recent in Together’s series of Women in Finance events aimed to provide an insight into the current state of the market for women, as well as discussing key strategies – such as personal brand marketing and a mindful approach to success – to overcome certain barriers.
One answer to the lack of investment in female-led businesses, Goodman said, was to remember that “women back women.”
She added: “We are replicating that model for commercial finance, connecting female business owners with female commercial finance providers to try and help turn the dial.”
Elmaz said: “Creating a level playing field for women in finance is crucial and something we are passionate about supporting at Together.
“This is why we set up our Women in Finance events, and we were delighted to have once again been joined by so many inspirational women sharing their experiences and knowledge.
“There is a clear lack of investment into female-led businesses, and so to see organisations like Female Founder Finance providing much needed support is incredible.
“We hope to continue to build on our relationship with Roxanne and the rest of their team long into the future.
“We would like to thank everyone who attended the event; together we will keep doing all we can to open doors for women in finance.”
The event and its discussion will be covered in full in the next issue of The Intermediary.