The Invest in Women Taskforce has announced that more than £115 million of capital has now been deployed through its funding pool, marking a major step forward in its mission to increase the flow of funding to women investors and women-led businesses across the UK.
The milestone follows investments by BGF and Bootstrap 4F into women-led and mixed fund managers and businesses that meet the Taskforce’s gender diversity and commercial returns criteria.
These investments are made via the broader funding pool, through which institutional investor partners commit capital for investment into women-led and mixed-led businesses.
The news means that over £115 million has been deployed across 22 deals, with further deals in the pipeline.
Just two years after its launch, the Taskforce has convened £635 million in capital commitments — more than double its original £250 million ambition — and is now seeing investment reach women-led and mixed fund managers and businesses. The capital is accelerating efforts to drive lasting change across the investment ecosystem and demonstrates tangible progress from commitment to delivery.
Hannah Bernard CBE, Co-Chair of the Invest in Women Taskforce, said:
“When we launched the Invest in Women Taskforce, our ambition was not simply to raise awareness of the funding gap, but to change the system that created it. Surpassing £100 million in deployment shows that this is no longer a conversation about intent; it is proof that capital is actively reaching women investors and founders. The focus now is ensuring this momentum continues through deployment, accountability and long-term structural change, so that backing women entrepreneurs becomes a permanent feature of the investment landscape rather than an exception to it.”
Debbie Wosskow CBE, Co-Chair of the Invest in Women Taskforce, said:
“For too long, the investment industry has overlooked one of the biggest commercial opportunities in the market.
“This has never been about favouring women; it is about ensuring the industry does not miss out on exceptional businesses and strong returns. The capital is now flowing, and the commercial case has never been clearer: back women or miss out on enormous return potential for investors and the UK economy as a whole.”
Louise Harris MBE, CEO of Tramshed Tech and a board member of the UK Invest in Women Taskforce, welcomed the milestone but pointed to the work still needed closer to home. She said:
“Passing £115 million deployed is real proof that this Taskforce is changing outcomes, not just conversations – and it points to something we see first-hand here in Wales. Women and mixed-led teams here are winning a strong share of deals, but that activity still isn't yet converting into a proportionate share of capital, demonstrating the classic funding gap. National momentum like this, whilst warmly welcomed, needs to be translated into change on the ground – we need to keep building the pipeline and closing that conversion gap, which is exactly the work we're doing every day at Tramshed Tech.”
The news comes after Bootstrap 4F, the firm that manages the Women Backing Women Fund of Funds, announced that it had begun deploying capital following its landmark £130 million first close in March this year. Bootstrap 4F committed capital to Evertrue Capital I LP, Seedcamp VII LP and Seedcamp Nation II LP, backing women-led and gender-balanced investment teams that will, in turn, support the next generation of high-growth businesses.
