British Business Bank tackles UK gender funding gap with £1m commitment alongside Angel Academe Fund
The British Business Bank has committed an initial £1m to co-invest with Angel Academe, who are a founding signatory of the Investing in Women Code. Female founders in the UK receive less than 2% of all venture capital and this commitment is designed to address this disparity and support more female founders.
The funds, managed by SyndicateRoom in partnership with Angel Academe, invest exclusively in high-growth companies with at least one female founder. The British Business Bank’s capital will be deployed alongside Angel Academe’s private investors and EIS fund into startups at seed to Series A stages. The first investments from this commitment are expected to begin in Q2 2026.
Why this matters:
Backing proven success: The funds have already invested in companies including Béa Fertility, a digital fertility platform; Provenance, which provides supply chain transparency technology; and Data Wøllet, a consumer data privacy platform.
Closing the VC gap: Female founders remain significantly underfunded across all sectors. The gap is particularly acute in technology and healthcare, where capital requirements are higher, and funding rounds are larger.
Institutional validation: The British Business Bank’s commitment signals confidence in both the commercial opportunity and the need to correct funding imbalances in UK venture capital.
Graham Schwikkard, CEO of SyndicateRoom, said: “It’s not a lack of talent, it’s a lack of access. This £1m isn’t just capital, it’s a signal to the market that female-led businesses are some of the most undervalued assets in the UK right now. We’re looking for the next sector-defining companies that others are simply missing.”
Sarah Turner, CEO of Angel Academe, said: “We don’t have a pipeline problem; we have a funding problem. By partnering with the British Business Bank, we’re able to put more capital into the hands of women who are building the future of healthcare, data, and commerce.”
Nancy Liu, senior investment manager at British Business Bank Investments, said: “The gender investment gap isn’t just a matter of equality – it’s also a barrier to potential growth and innovation in the UK. Female founders remain significantly underfunded and the British Business Bank aims to unlock potential across the UK by ensuring diverse entrepreneurs have access to finance, including female founders. The partnership with Angel Academe will help address this disparity whilst supporting the development of high growth smaller businesses across the UK.”