RBS has announced £1bn of funding for female-led businesses

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has announced £1bn of funding through Natwest to support female entrepreneurship in the UK. 

According to the bank, only one in three entrepreneurs are women, and when women do launch businesses they have on average 53% less capital than men.

Therefore, Natwest has announced £1bn of funding that they hope will support 500,000 people to consider starting a business, of which at least 60% will be female.

The funding will be open to anyone who is looking to start up a business, with the aim being to tap into the unrealised potential in the UK economy.

CEO of RBS, Alison Rose said: ‘As we build a purpose-led bank that champions the potential of people, families and businesses up and down the country, we are focusing on the areas where we can have the biggest positive impact across society.

‘Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy and we are backing Britains entrepreneurs and helping them to thrive by removing the barrios to success.

‘The funding and targets announced today will help support anyone who is thinking about starting a business throughout the UK.

‘Building a business is tough and lonely, by tackling the most important issues facing our entrepreneurs, we can make a real difference to those who need it most, especially in female-led businesses.’

Simon Clare, Exchequer secretary to the treasury said: ‘It is shocking that only one in three entrepreneurs are women, and just one penny in every pound of investment goes to female-led firms.

‘This £1bn of funding is a tremendous step forward and demonstrates the finance sector’s commitment to promoting female entrepreneurship in the United Kingdom.

‘The Female Entrepreneurship Funding builds on a number of initiatives that the bank already has in place to support women looking to start, scale and grow their businesses.

‘Female entrepreneurs can access local networking and mentors through NatWest’s 500 ‘Women in Banking’ specialists, as well as being able to use the ‘Everywoman Hub’ which, amongst other things, provides an online PR service to help entrepreneurs raise their business profile.’

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