Helen Oldham, co-founder of Lifted Ventures
How women-focused investment education can supercharge UK regional growth.
As Northern women Jordan Dargue and I love talking to business leaders about levelling up and the potential to drive growth through supporting high-growth, women-led, early-stage innovation.
Reflecting on the 11 accelerator programmes Lifted Ventures delivered in 2025 — across 67 workshops and 2,574 hours of female founder support — the untapped potential in UK regional economies is clear.
Women are launching businesses in record numbers, with nearly half of UK early-stage entrepreneurs now women. Yet funding remains unequal. In 2024, all-female teams received just 8.2% of UK equity deals and 2.8% of total investment value — figures that have barely shifted. Talent is not the constraint; systems change, networks and knowledge are.
That’s where women-only investment education plays a critical role.
1. Builds confidence and accelerates learning
Women entrepreneurs consistently report network and mentorship gaps as major barriers to scaling. Group learning environments tailored to women reduce the fear of traditional investor spaces and build confidence more quickly. Women learners often benefit from peers asking questions they might otherwise suppress in mixed groups — accelerating comprehension and risk-taking.
Tailored group environments reduce , accelerate financial learning and increase participation. Seeing peers succeed lowers psychological barriers and leads to faster learning curves. Women also pass this knowledge on to wider networks, multiplying impact.
2. Creates more investors — especially local angels
Women represent just 14% of UK angel investors, yet they invest more frequently in women-led businesses. Over the past decade, female angels have deployed £2bn into UK companies, creating 10,000+ jobs. Scaling education in cities from Leeds to Liverpool, Torquay to Teesside could unlock powerful local capital.
3. Strengthens regional economies
Over two-thirds of female angel funding has gone to London and the South East, despite investable women-led talent across every UK region. Educating women to invest locally helps rebalance capital, innovation and resilience.
4. Unlocks economic growth
The Rose Review shows that matching men’s start-and-scale rates could add £250bn to the UK economy.
Women-focused investment education isn’t separation — it’s a strategic accelerator. If we want to level up the UK, investing in women’s financial education is not optional. It’s an economic growth driver.