As the investment manager for Angels Invest Wales, I’ve seen just how valuable equity investment can be when coupled with the expertise of investors. As the biggest angel investor network in Wales, we’ve brought together hundreds of growing companies with seasoned business angels – and now have more than 290 registered investors, who are ready to put their knowledge and money to good use.
We’ve also encouraged many first-time investors, giving them the tools and guidance they need to start their role as angels. And importantly, we have seen how equity investment can work for companies that want more than just financial support.
Women Angels of Wales
This International Women’s Day, we wanted to mark the efforts of a new group of female angel investors in Wales as they aim to level the playing field and support female-led and female-owned businesses.
Bringing together more than 30 of Wales’ most successful female entrepreneurs and business leaders, Women Angels of Wales is a new investment syndicate led by women, for women.
The formation of the new syndicate followed a report UK Business Angels Association (UKBAA) suggesting that despite female investors having driven more than £2bn of investment in companies across the UK in the last decade, women remain a minority in angel investment. And that lack of women angels has a direct impact on the support received by female-led, founded or owned companies, as women are much more likely to invest in them.
By ensuring there’s a strong, active network of female investors – who bring expertise across different business and financial backgrounds – we can leverage further support for female entrepreneurship.
By encouraging more women to become angel investors, we create an opportunity to support the businesses that matter to them and to create new sources of capital for innovative businesses.
Led by Jill Jones, an experienced business investor and passionate supporter of women in entrepreneurship, Women Angels of Wales is a friendly and supportive investment group, which welcomes new and aspiring female investor members across Wales who are committed to supporting the Welsh economy and the creation of Welsh jobs.
Syndicates like Women Angels of Wales are the way forward for business angel investing as they can pool the hard-won knowledge of investors into key areas, multiplying their expertise whilst spreading risks to make sure they are managed carefully.
Our purpose
At the Development Bank of Wales, it’s our mission to ensure the investments we make have more than just a financial impact. We want the companies we support to grow, to employ more people and boost the Welsh economy. But we also want them to be drivers of positive change in their communities.
We want to do more than make sure everyone has equal access to the worlds of business and finance. We want to give them the tools, the support and the guidance they need to make their voices heard and their experiences recognised, so they can be confident in making their mark.
Now is the perfect time to embrace equity, to increase opportunities and remove barriers.
