Fund Her North has partnered with NatWest to support investment opportunities for female entrepreneurs across the North of England.
The regional volunteer collective is the first of its kind in the 海角视频 and aims to encourage more women in the North to apply for investments and funding to support entrepreneurship and grow female-led businesses, particularly in a post-Covid world.
Bringing together more than 30 women from the investment industry, Fund Her North was established in October 2020 and has a combined investment power of £450m.
READ MORE: The 海角视频's potential £250bn female-led investment boost - and how to unlock it
The new partnership forms part of NatWest’s strategy aiming to support enterprise funding post-Covid-19.
NatWest CEO Alison Rose said: "There has never been a more important time to get behind 海角视频 businesses and Fund Her North’s mission aligns with our commitment to help create 50,000 new jobs by 2023, 75% of which will be outside of London and the South East.
"What’s more, we want women to be at the helm of 60% of these businesses, with 20 per cent of these women coming from ethnic minority backgrounds. Fund Her North will help turn this ambition into a reality and I am excited to pledge our support to the collective."
Jess Jackson, head of investment at GC Angels and member of Fund Her North, added: "At GC Angels, we are proud of the work we do to ensure that female founders are given the same opportunities as their male counterparts.
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"This work has resulted in 39% of all our raises going to women, but sadly this does not reflect the national picture.
"It’s been inspiring working with a group of women who share my ambition to make equity investment work for female-fronted businesses.
"Fund Her North was formed out of an urgent need to address the imbalances in access to investment available for female-led organisations in the North. With female founders two thirds more likely to receive investment from female investors, we focus on both female entrepreneurs and investors.
"Though we are a new organisation, we’ve already seen some promising results. Our first pitch event has generated circa £1.5m in investment offers, while our recent event for female angel investors had 100 attendees.
How NatWest is supporting BusinessLive
NatWest is the national partner of BusinessLive.
The banking group is teaming up with BusinessLive on a series of events throughout the year aimed at entrepreneurs and business leaders.
Alongside a wide range of banking services, NatWest offers businesses specialist sector knowledge in areas such as manufacturing and technology, as well as access to specialist entrepreneurial support.
"It’s clear that this is a conversation that is gaining momentum, and the more we can expose and address these imbalances, the closer we get to a system that works for everybody."
Heather Waters, enterprise manager at NatWest, said: "The partnership with Fund Her North offers NatWest a progressive opportunity to support women across the whole of the North and encourage their enterprise and investment ambitions.
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"The Rose Review found that only 13% of senior people in 海角视频 investment teams are women, while almost half of investment teams have no women whatsoever.
"Moreover, access to finance was found to be the number one barrier recognised by female entrepreneurs in the review, with only 6% of teams receiving funds being all-female.
"The disparity is very clear, and NatWest remains committed to helping women overcome this barrier. It is only through commitment and collaboration that we can support the North’s economy by encouraging female business founders from all walks of life."