In the wake of the 2024 general election, a fresh optimism echoes within the UK’s corridors of power. A crackle of potential and possibility around what this Labour government might do differently across several key areas of interest, not least on the frontier of female entrepreneurship.
Because for all the success achieved by women entrepreneurs in recent times – all the milestones, the innovative ideas, the breaking of new ground – there remains a stubborn gap separating these extraordinary, enterprising women and their maximum contribution to the economy.
A contribution to the tune of billions – £250 billion, in fact, according to the women-led High-Growth Enterprise Taskforce who highlight said economic boon can be uncovered if women started and scaled businesses to the same extent as men.
If funding and business resources, for example, were allocated fairly in order to overcome any lending inequalities that women in enterprise often face.
This persisting disconnect was perhaps best summed up recently by Anne Boden, chair of the aforementioned taskforce, who notes in the UK’s pursuit of becoming a tech superpower by 2030, we are “effectively starting this race with one hand tied behind our backs.”
Of that £250 billion figure, it’s estimated £7bn would contribute directly to the economy here, which would further bolster Northern Ireland at a time when the local economy is expected to be the fastest growing UK region outside London for 2024, according to analysis by PwC.
This wanting opportunity must be seized – and quickly – if women’s enterprise is ever to make its full and proper contribution to the UK economy.
There is a defined pathway to achieving this, too. In their 2024 manifesto to government, Women’s Enterprise Scotland outlined key priority areas which collectively hold the power to propel women-led entrepreneurship from where it is now, to where it has the potential to be. And higher still.
They comprise inclusive funding opportunities, access to care, financial inclusion, dedicated business support specific to women, and mandatory monitoring and assessments to further optimise and indeed future-proof the support that’s out there.
WES is a member of the Women’s Enterprise Policy Group, a UK-wide network forged by women entrepreneurs, academics, and gender informed business support organisations all of whom are committed to accelerating women-led start-ups from genesis to growth.
Co-creating a path forward for women’s enterprise to flourish is fundamental to the group, and after joining the network as co-chair, I very much look forward to helping push forward this agenda from the front.
To collectively challenge the hurdles and inequalities that stand in the way of women entrepreneurs reaching their true potential, and with it, a paradigm shift with positive repercussions for the economy on a UK-wide scale.
- Lorraine Acheson is managing director of Women in Business, part of the WiB Group
