Empowering Female Founders in Welsh Tech

Updated on 30/10/24

In a significant move to support gender diversity within the tech ecosystem, Tramshed Tech, in collaboration with the British Business Bank, has launched the Female Founder Investor Readiness Programme. 

This 6-month initiative is designed to equip Welsh female tech founders with the skills, mentorship, and support necessary to raise capital effectively. Supporting partners for this programme include AberInnovation and Welsh Ice.

The Need for Gender Diversity in Tech Investment

The British Business Bank, a founding signatory of the Investing in Women Code, is committed to improving access to finance for women entrepreneurs by collecting data and adopting inclusive practices.

The 2022 data from the Investing in Women Code highlighted a consistent link between the gender balance of investment committees or Angel groups and the proportion of finance going to women-led businesses.

While these findings indicate important progress, they also underscore the ongoing need to close funding gaps.

Tramshed Tech's Female Founder Investor Readiness Programme will set out to equip Welsh female tech founders with the skills, mentorship, and support necessary to raise capital effectively.

Key insights include:

1. Fewer women-led businesses and all-female founder teams sought funding compared to their male counterparts in both lending and equity finance markets.

2. Female investors remain underrepresented on investment committees, with an average of 32% female representation in investment teams and 24% on investment committees. Diverse investment committees are correlated with more successful pitches from all-female teams, highlighting a crucial area for improvement. 

3. The challenging economic climate resulted in a significant decrease in funding requests from all-female teams in 2022 compared to 2021. Despite this, overall Angel investment captured by female founders, including mixed-gender teams, decreased compared to the previous year.

Meet the Inspiring Female Founders of the Programme…

The Female Founder Investor Readiness Programme features an impressive line-up of entrepreneurs representing a diverse array of tech-driven industries:

• Anna Burke, Director of Animated Technologies: Leading in immersive technologies that transform business engagement through innovative animations, VR training, and AR solutions. 

• Victoria Mann, CEO at NearMeNow: An award-winning leader transforming towns into thriving communities. 

• Kate Sukhanova, Founder of Expordite: Specialising in export compliance and risk assessment for British exporters. 

• Christy Llywellyn Loste, Founder of Get Loste.com: Managing an e-commerce business for luxury press-on nail kits. 

• Molly Sishton, Co-Founder of Re-Imagine Marketing: Expert in digital marketing strategies for both B2B and B2C clients. 

• Anna Roberts, CEO and Founder of Explorage: Innovating the online marketplace for self-storage. 

• Tammy Kennedy, Co-Founder of Little Bird Films: Creating compelling TV content for leading broadcasters. 

Female investors remain underrepresented on investment committees, highlighting the need for gender diversity in tech investment.

• Louise Bray, Co-Founder of Little Bird Films and Green Wing: Contributing to the production of engaging broadcast content.

• Maria Semenenko, Co-Founder of Oxzen: Combining her expertise in frontend development and computer science. 

• Laura Thompson, Co-Founder of Gopher Zero: Helping SMEs adopt clean technology. 

• Jo Parikh, CEO and Co-Founder of Poppet: Providing flexible childcare solutions. 

• Sophie Mason, Founder of Thinkedi: Offering HR expertise focused on inclusivity and diversity.

• Kelly H, Founder of Lets NVST: Assisting investors and developers in finding properties safely. 

• Sonia Sathe, Founder of Magpie: Revolutionizing skilling for medical professionals. 

• Jamila La Malfa-Donaldson, Founder of PROHEMPOTIC: Offering hemp-based food and cosmetics for health and wellness. 

With this fantastic line-up of businesses, we’re excited to follow the journey of these founders over the next six months. 

Stay tuned for updates on their progress and the impact of the Female Founder Investor Readiness Programme.

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Get in touch to speak to a team member to learn more about the programmes we offer.