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Number of Women Startup Founders Nearly Doubled Over A Decade
The startup landscape has transformed in the past decade as VC funding increased in the UK.
The number of women startup founders has risen by nearly half over the past decade, new research has revealed.
This is according to analysis from Fuel Ventures, which analysed the thousands of startup pitches the VC firm received each year. Pitches now average around 6,000 a year.
The number of women founders since 2014 rose by 45%, with an increase of 30% just in the past five years.
The firm’s analysis also found that co-founded startups were more likely to receive funding, as 76% of successful pitches have come from startups with co-founders rather than a single founder.
Further, while London still remains the most popular location of startups in the UK, other cities are closing in. Birmingham (120%) and Manchester (95%) have both seen large increases in the number of startups over the past decade, ushering in more regional diversity in the UK startup landscape.
The VC firm also found that the age demographics of founders has transformed as well. Entrepreneurs aged over 40 have increased by 35% over the past decade, showing that experience may be paving the way for new ventures. It could also reflect growing instability for young people to take such a high risk chance in starting their own business compared to those with a longer established career.
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While female founders may be increasing in number, other analysis contextualises this increase. Female founders consistently get less funding than their male counterparts.
Funding for female-founded businesses actually went down from 2% in the first half of 2023 to 1.8% in the first half of 2024, according to Forbes.
Data even shows that women-founded startups are missing out on the AI startup gains seen by mostly male-led teams.
While VC funding across the UK saw a year-on-year increase of 12.5%, reaching £9 billion in 2024, it is clear that this funding was not evenly distributed across firms.
