Scottish female entrepreneurs are to get direct access to the UK Government’s global trade expertise as Scotland Office Minister Kirsty McNeill urges women business leaders to join the first all-female Brand Scotland trade mission.

At a roundtable discussion in Edinburgh hosted by the Scotland Office, McNeill brought together female business leaders from across Scotland to identify and tackle the export challenges women routinely face when growing their business in the worldwide market.

Focused on boosting the success of women-led firms, McNeill asked for the views of company leaders across the technology, sustainability, clean energy and beauty sectors, as well as representatives of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, the Confederation of British Industry and Women’s Enterprise Scotland.

The roundtable discussion addressed three key challenges, including how businesses can access finance and investment, overcome export barriers, and tackle market access issues that disproportionately affect women-led businesses.

The government said that ideas from the meeting will shape the Scotland Office’s all-women trade mission to Madrid in June, where representatives of Scottish female-led companies are being invited to join.

“It’s crucial that I hear from Scottish businesswomen about the barriers they face, find out what we can do to help, and demonstrate how Scottish companies can really benefit from having direct informal access like this to the UK’s vast global network of trade expertise,” said McNeill.

“By harnessing the combined resources of the Scotland Office, the Foreign Office and Department for Business and Trade, we can create significant opportunities for women entrepreneurs.

“We’re already seeing positive results from championing Brand Scotland internationally, and I’m committed to unlocking more global opportunities for Scottish women in business.”

While the Scotland Office’s all-female trade mission showcased the potential of women-led firms, recent data paints a less optimistic picture.

According to Women’s Enterprise Scotland, the share of women-led businesses north of the border has fallen to just 20% of all employer firms, with only 4.5% employing more than ten people. 

In response, WES has written to first minister John Swinney ahead of today’s Programme for Government, urging a £50 million commitment to a long-promised Scottish Women’s Business Centre to help tackle structural barriers and boost female entrepreneurship.

Recommended reading

• • Scots Gov Announces £1.5m ‘Pathways Pre-Start Fund’
  • Female Founders Growth Summit | Success, Struggles, and Resilience
  • Women Entrepreneurship: New Scot Gov Report Tackles Gender Barriers

As with the Scotland Office’s trade mission, the organisation wants more Scottish Government support to tackle structural inequalities holding back women in business and improve outcomes for female-led firms.

“While more women than men are choosing to start up in business in Scotland, there is a high rate of attrition and early-stage activity is not translating into an uplift in the longevity of established women-led businesses,” reads the open letter.

“Women continue to receive significantly disproportionately lower access to funding and resources, for example in grant funds, equity investment, digital resources and net zero resources.

“We believe the policy commitment to a Women’s Business Centre offers a strong platform to advance women’s entrepreneurship, tackling the decline in employer women-led businesses, addressing structural inequalities holding women back and adding billions of pounds to the economy.”