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Where Is The Investment For Black British Female Entrepreneurs?

During Britain’s first lockdown many took the opportunity to start their own business. In fact, a call to the Intellectual Property Office revealed that for “some reason” they have had to sort through triple the amount of trademarking applications than usual; triple the amount of people securing their copyright.

Once you initiate that brilliant idea, and even place some capital into it, the natural next step in business is of course – growth. A great way of growing your business is through investment. Venture capital investments are defined as “a form of private equity and a type of financing that investors provide to startup companies and small businesses that are believed to have long-term growth potential” by Investopedia – a category I am sure many black, female-led businesses fall into. However, when it comes to investment, black women seem to be drawing the short end of the stick. Statistically speaking, between 2009 and 2019 only 0.24% of venture capital investments went to black-owned businesses. In that same period, only one black woman raised Series A funding for her business.

In 2013 the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor identified black women as the most entrepreneurial female group based on total economic activity. This demonstrates that black women have the ideas and are initiating them, but remain neglected by investors and funders.