NatWest Group announced today that it has now lent more than £1.5 billion to women-led businesses since 2021, and is on track to exceed its target of lending £2 billion by the end of 2025.
This is a faster pace than expected, and shows the desire of successful women-owned businesses to expand. Regionally, women in the North of England performed strongly in securing funding, as did women in London and the South East.
In 2023, the bank also launched a €500 million women's bond issue, the first of its kind from a European financial institution. This has resulted in more than 14,500 loans being made to women-led businesses across the UK. It has proven particularly popular with investors, with oversubscriptions exceeding 2.5 times upon launch and continuing to attract strong engagement.
The bank's track record also includes having more than 1,000 women entrepreneurs professionals to support female entrepreneurs, in addition to having more than 50% of startup founders among its 13 accelerators nationwide. NatWest also partners with a range of organizations and initiatives seeking to help women entrepreneurs scale and get the investment they need. This includes Buy Women Build, MPHERoes, The Gender Index and other organizations supporting 100,000 women.
Coutts, the private banking arm of NatWest Group, has also raised more than £112 million through its UK Enterprise Fund. It provides the bank's client base with access to investment opportunities in privately owned and early-stage companies. Working with the BGF (formerly the British Growth Fund) more than 70% of investments were outside London and the South East. 15% of the funds were allocated to women entrepreneurs, compared to similar funds that usually lend 1-2% to women.
NatWest is also a member of the newly launched Women Pivoting to Digital Taskforce, to support more women in digital roles. Currently, women represent less than 25% of employees in the fields of artificial intelligence and data science, with a forecast of one woman for every 115 jobs in technology by 2025. The task force aims to encourage companies to develop women's skills and plan how to source female talent . For digital roles. This aims to future-proof the digital economy by ensuring digital and analog products and roles.
Julie Baker, Head of Strategic Partnerships at NatWest Group, said: “We are proud to be the UK’s leading bank supporting women in business. Announcing our £2bn investment in women-led businesses faster than planned demonstrates the strength and desire of their companies.” In expansion.
“We are committed to supporting women entrepreneurs and have a proven track record in doing so. This includes having over 1,000 women entrepreneurs specialists in our bank, over 50% of female startup founders within our accelerators and launching the first ever women’s bond worth €500 million.