Women in finance

Women receive 44p of business funding for every £1 awarded to men




Since 2016, female entrepreneurs have secured just 44p of business funding for every £1 awarded to men, according to the latest research.

A study by small business and start-up finance provider Access Commercial Finance reported that this was despite women having an 18% higher application success rate than men.

The research found that since July 2016, only 16% of applications received were submitted by women.

On top of this, the analysis highlighted that women also asked for less money, on average, when applying.

Researchers revealed that women asked for £18,000 less than men, on average, when applying for start-up funding.


Based on applications where the full amount applied for was awarded, women obtained £22,162 each, while men received £50,638 each on average.

“This data shows us that women are, on average, either better at putting together a funding proposal for their small businesses, or they just have more fundable businesses,” said Matt Haycox, consultant at Access Commercial Finance (pictured above).

“Either way, it’s potentially good news for women-owned businesses and start-ups.

“But given the low application rate and low funding request amount for women, men are still getting most of the cash due to [the] sheer volume of applications.

“We hope our data gives any woman considering applying for business funding the confidence to do so.”

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