New UK Initiative Aims to Close the Funding Gap for Women-Led Businesses

Only 2% of UK investment goes to women-led businesses—and most stays in London. This bold initiative is changing the game with regional support and data-driven growth tools.

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2026 February 23 . 10:36 PM

1 min read

The image shows a graph depicting the funds by gender gap focus over time. The graph is accompanied... — The image shows a graph depicting the funds by gender gap focus over time. The graph is accompanied by text that provides further information about the data.

New UK Initiative Aims to Close the Funding Gap for Women-Led Businesses

A new UK-wide initiative called The Whole Point is working to boost funding for women-led businesses. Backed by the government, it has already provided over 4,000 hours of support and helped 350 companies navigate growth challenges. The project aims to tackle the stark funding gap, where only 2% of UK investment currently goes to women entrepreneurs—with most of that concentrated in London.

The initiative operates through five regional boards in Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, and Newcastle. Each board brings together local expertise to support women-led businesses in their area. A pilot scheme in Leeds has already demonstrated how targeted backing can help these companies thrive.

The Whole Point offers practical programmes to make women-led businesses investment-ready. It also runs Money Talks roundtables and is developing The Whole Point Index, a live data dashboard tracking rising women-led firms across the UK. Beyond direct support, the group serves as a delivery and insight partner for the government's Invest in Women Taskforce, contributing to a national data taxonomy project.

Lloyds Banking Group is a founding national sponsor, adding financial weight to the effort. The initiative is chaired by Zandra Moore MBE, a Leeds-based data and AI specialist. So far, 76 members have joined the five regional boards, helping to expand the programme's reach.

The Whole Point has made early progress, but the funding disparity remains stark. With only 2% of UK investment reaching women-led businesses—and over half of that staying in London—the initiative's regional focus could help redistribute opportunities. The next steps include scaling its programmes and refining the data tools to track long-term impact.