The Invest in Women Taskforce has exceeded its fundraising ambitions and significantly boosted women’s entrepreneurship. It announced it has now raised £635m in pledges, more than double its original target of £250m set at launch in 2024.
The milestone includes confirmation that Nationwide and the British Business Bank will join Barclays and M&G as anchor partners in the targeted first close of the ground-breaking £130m Women backing Women Fund of Funds, subject to final terms and approvals.
Managed by Bootstrap4F, the fund is considered the largest female-led fund of funds in the world and represents the first initiative of its kind in the UK dedicated to directly providing capital to gender-balanced, female-founded companies and VC teams.
The Taskforce’s first annual report, published today, shows that more than £70m was deployed across 15 founders and funds in 2025, with a strong pipeline now emerging with increasing momentum. The funding pool has become the world’s largest coordinated initiative to reshape the investment landscape for women entrepreneurs.
A sector that still faces a large investment gap
Despite rapid progress, female founders continue to face major funding disparities. Research from Beauhurst and the Taskforce shows that companies founded entirely by women receive just 2% of UK equity investment. At the current rate of change, the task force estimates that it will take at least a decade to achieve funding parity between all-male teams and female or mixed teams.
The House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee recently reiterated this call for urgent action, calling on government and industry to invest more decisively in women’s entrepreneurship.
Government support and economic arguments
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said supporting women entrepreneurs was at the heart of the Government’s economic agenda ahead of a Downing Street reception to mark the publication of the annual report.
“Growth is this administration’s number one mission, and I support women-owned businesses not just because they are critical to our economy, but because it is the right thing to do,” she said.
“As the first female chancellor, I am committed to improving economic outcomes for women, from lifting the two-child limit to breaking down barriers that stop women starting, scaling and investing in British businesses.”
“A commercial imperative, not just a moral one”
Hannah Bernard, chief executive of Barclays and co-chair of the taskforce, highlighted the economic potential of supporting women-led businesses.
“Women-owned businesses have 35% higher returns than men-owned businesses,” she said. “Not only is this the right thing to do, it is a commercial imperative. We urgently need to rebalance investment committees and capital deployment.”
Debbie Wosskow OBE, entrepreneur and co-chair of the taskforce, said the fund’s progress should serve as a wake-up call for the entire VC industry.
“Achieving the first close will be a huge milestone. We have worked tirelessly to build the world’s largest female funding pool, but around 80% of UK venture capital still goes to all-male teams,” she said. “The evidence is clear: diversity-focused teams deliver higher returns. So what are we waiting for?”
The taskforce continues to call on institutional investors, pension funds and corporates to join the initiative and help close the ongoing gender funding gap in the UK.
