More than £20 million has now been lent to over 2,000 female entrepreneurs across Wales, as new analysis from the British Business Bank reveals women are starting businesses in an increasingly diverse range of locations across the country.
The milestone has been reached via the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme, which provides finance and support to aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs looking to start or grow a business.
The British Business Bank has now provided £20,050,001 through Start Up Loans to 2,081 female entrepreneurs across Wales, with the latest figures revealing a marked shift in where women are accessing finance to start businesses.
While Cardiff has received the highest number and total value of female Start Up Loans over the lifetime of the programme – which began in 2012 – analysis of the last five years highlights strong levels of activity across a range of local authorities, including several areas outside the capital.
Carmarthenshire recorded the highest number of female Start Up Loans over the five-year period, with 58 loans compared with 55 in Cardiff, while Pembrokeshire followed with 51. Carmarthenshire was also second in Wales by total loan value, with £633,000 lent to female entrepreneurs, behind £736,000 in Cardiff, and has recorded consistently strong levels of activity year-on-year.
The figures reflect the British Business Bank’s wider focus on ensuring entrepreneurs can access finance and support across Wales, including in rural and less densely populated economies. While larger population centres such as Cardiff and Swansea naturally account for significant levels of lending, the five-year data shows strong Start Up Loan activity across a much broader range of communities. Pembrokeshire, Newport, Wrexham and Flintshire have all recorded high levels of female Start Up Loan activity over the period, demonstrating the reach of the programme beyond Wales’ biggest urban centres.
North Wales is another area of strength. Flintshire ranks among the top five Welsh local authorities for both the number and value of female Start Up Loans over the last five years, with 42 loans worth £459,000. Wrexham, Conwy and Gwynedd have also all seen the number of female Start Up Loans increase over the same period.
In 2025, both Wrexham and Flintshire recorded more female Start Up Loans than Cardiff, providing a further illustration of the breadth of entrepreneurial activity being supported across Wales.
The data also highlights a notable concentration of female entrepreneurs from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds in Newport. Almost half (45%) of Start Up Loans awarded to women from these backgrounds over the last five years went to entrepreneurs in Newport, highlighting the city’s contribution to the wider picture of female entrepreneurship across Wales.
The £20 million milestone comes as the British Business Bank continues its wider work to improve women entrepreneurs’ access to finance at different stages of their business journey. The Bank was a founding signatory of the Investing in Women Code and is a Code partner, with more than 300 organisations now signed up to improve female entrepreneurs’ access to finance across the financial services sector.
Start Up Loans play a particular role at the earlier stages of that journey, providing aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs with finance and support to help turn an idea into a business. Further along the funding landscape, the latest Investing in Women Code data shows that 32% of venture capital investment from Code signatories went to teams with at least one female founder in 2025, up from 27% in 2024 and more than double the 15% recorded across the wider market.
Jess Phillips-Harris, Director, Wales – Local Growth Team at the British Business Bank, said:
“Improving access to finance for female entrepreneurs is an important part of our work, and we are proud to have been a founding signatory of the Investing in Women Code. We have also supported the development of Women Angels of Wales, helping to grow the number of women angel investors and increase the flow of investment to female-founded businesses.
“Through Start Up Loans, we provide aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs with the finance and support they need to turn their ideas into businesses, wherever they are in Wales. Reaching this £20 million milestone is a significant achievement, and the breadth of activity we are seeing across Wales highlights the ambition of women starting and growing businesses in communities right across the country.”
One female founder to make use of a Start Up Loan is Anna Lloyd, founder of Anglesey-based fermented food brand Bwblin, which creates fermented products using locally sourced Welsh ingredients. Having developed the business alongside her career, Anna used a £5,000 Start Up Loan to invest in equipment and move into a dedicated production space as the business grew.
Anna Lloyd, founder of Anglesey-based fermented food brand Bwblin, said:
“Obtaining a Start Up Loan gave me the financial firepower I needed to take Bwblin seriously as a business. I had been developing the idea as a side hustle and, as demand grew, the funding gave me the confidence and practical support to invest in the right equipment and move into a dedicated production space.
“Starting a business is obviously very daunting and you certainly don’t have everything figured out at the beginning but having the right financial support, at the right moment is a huge part of the journey and one that makes all the difference.”
