Female-led businesses have much poorer access to business funding than their male counterparts.

In fact, in 2024, only 2% of global venture capital funding went to female-only founding teams, according to research by the Founders Forum Group.

The World Economic Forum estimates that, globally, the finance gap for women entrepreneurs is $1.7 trillion, with male-led start-ups and businesses receiving the majority of funding.

But why does this gender disparity exist? And what are the available routes to funding that your female-led business could consider when looking for additional finance?

What causes the gender disparity in access to funding?

The differences in access to funding between female founders and male founders are a problem. This disparity holds back female entrepreneurs, reduces their ability to grow their business ideas and perpetuates the dominance of male-led businesses in specific sectors.

What actually causes this gender disparity in funding?

1. Investor bias: A lack of diversity in the investment world leads to unconscious bias, with investors more likely to favor male-led teams over female-led teams.
2. Networking disparity: Female founders can lack access to the male-dominated professional networks where the majority of funding deals originate, making it harder to find investors.
3. Perception of industry and scale: Investors tend to fund high-growth, male-dominated tech sectors, while female founders are more likely to start businesses in sectors that are perceived as less scalable or less attractive to venture capitalists.

Historically, it may be more difficult to find the funding you need as a female-led business. But perceptions of female entrepreneurialism are changing, and many institutions are doing their best to address the gender disparity – making it easier to find the funding you need.

Five different routes to funding and how they differ:

1. Flexible loans from specialist lenders

There’s a large choice of specialist business lenders that can offer fast and straightforward access to small business loans.

Applying for a loan with these non-bank lenders is generally faster than applying to the big banks and has less emphasis on traditional business credit checks. Non-banks tend to assess your creditworthiness based on your current and future business performance and ability to repay the loan. 

2. Government, local and charitable grants

Unlike a business loan, money you receive from a business grant does not have to be repaid. Grants are usually used to incentivize enterprise within specific areas or industries.

Grants for female-led businesses are offered through a variety of sources, so it’s a good idea to check government and regional websites to check what grants are available. You’ll need to meet the grant’s eligibility requirements to access the funding.

3. Private investors and venture capitalists

Private investors can be a fundamental source of funding when you’re starting your business, or looking to scale up the company.

Angel investors are private individuals who invest their own money into your business, in exchange for equity (usually shares) in the business. Venture capital companies and private equity companies invest in similar ways, but on a larger scale. Any kind of equity investment will mean giving up some ownership of the business (reducing your overall control of the company).

4. Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding platforms, like Kickstarter, give you a way to raise funds through contributions from a large group of interested investors or customers.

You can secure small contributions from multiple individual investors or donors to fund a project, campaign or new business venture. With some platforms, you can also sell your product directly to ‘early bird’ investors, allowing you to raise capital early and boost cashflow.

5. Tax breaks and incentives

Tax incentives are a way for you to lower the overall tax liability of your business, usually through tax credits, deductions or specific industry incentives.

By lowering your tax liability, you’ll end up paying less tax at year-end. This helps you keep more of your profits, giving you more capital to invest back into the business.

Working with you to create a funding strategy

Perceptions of female entrepreneurs are changing for the better. But it’s still vital to have a clear, detailed funding strategy to drive investment in your female-led business.

If you’re ready to kickstart your business, come and talk to our team. We’ll work with you to define your business plan, funding strategy and financial management.

The following content was originally published by BOMA. We have updated some of this article for our readers.

Keeping on top of your accounts is a big part of running a successful and profitable business.

But you don’t want to spend ALL your time dealing with accounting tasks, especially when that time could be spent building customer relationships, or developing new products etc.

So, how do you keep your finances in check, while also spending less time on your accounts?

1. Bringing your accounting into the digital age

Switching to cloud accounting can be a revolutionary step for many business owners, especially when you look at the ways you can streamline and automate the basic accounting tasks. By using accounting platforms like Xero, QuickBooks, MYOB or Sage, you get all the basics of small business financial management, but with the benefits of smart automation.

With most modern cloud accounting software, you can:

• • Automate the scanning and digitization of your expenses and receipts
  • Automatically reconcile your bank transactions with your invoices and bills
  • Connect your accounts to other time-saving apps for mileage claims or staff expenses.

2. Getting paid faster and with less admin

With a cloud accounting platform driving your business, you also make it easier to send out e-invoices and get paid faster and more effectively. Improving your payment times and cash collection can make a huge difference to your cashflow position, and also sets the right expectations with your customers – making it clear that you require to be made on time.

Using the invoicing function in your business software, you can:

• • Quickly send out electronic invoices as soon as a job is completed
  • Set up automated invoices to be sent out at pre-agreed points in a project
  • Include payment buttons on your invoice, so customers can pay via PayPal or card
  • Remove the barriers to payment and speed up payment times.

3. Getting a better overview of your important numbers

Using cloud accounting isn’t just about automating the time-consuming financial admin tasks. By recording and tracking all the financial and non-financial data flowing through your system, your accounting platform can actually provide you with a goldmine of useful real-time information.

With cloud accounting providing your reporting, you can

• • Access totally up-to-date real-time information, to improve your decision-making
  • Track your performance against targets to see how well the business is performing
  • Monitor spending and budgets to keep your cashflow under control
  • Understand your return on investment when it comes to sales and marketing activity
  • See how promotion has driven sales but reduced your profit, due to discounting.

Talk to us about setting up a more productive kind of accounting

If you want complete control of your finances and business decision-making, updating your accounting software and processes will be key to achieving that goal.

We can help you decide which accounting software is most suited to your business, and how to maximise the benefits you get from automation and real-time data.

Get in touch to talk through updating your accounting.

The following content was originally published by BOMA. We have updated some of this article for our readers.

The way you lead your team and grow your business determines whether you’re cultivating a transactional or thriving business.

Ask yourself: Are you a mushroom grower or a rose grower?

Mushroom leadership: The hidden danger

Mushroom growers thrive in the dark. That’s literally how mushrooms grow (kept in the shadows and fed sporadically). Unfortunately, this metaphor applies to far too many business leaders.

Without realizing it, leaders who operate like mushroom growers often:

• • Lack a clear vision for the business
  • Deliver inconsistent or confusing messages to their team
  • Prioritize short-term production over long-term development
  • Create environments where staff are kept in the dark and fed whatever information happens to come up

When your people don’t see a future or path for growth, they’re unlikely to contribute their best ideas, let alone stick around long enough to blossom.

Rose leadership: Cultivating growth with intention

Contrast this with the mindset of a rose grower. Rose growers are deliberate:

They prune branches that aren’t growing in the right direction. They feed and fertilize consistently. They protect the plant from pests. Most importantly, they focus on the result: the blossom.

As a leader embracing rose-growing principles, you:

• • Set a clear direction and align with your partners on that vision
  • Identify each team member’s potential and coach them toward it
  • Prune behaviors and practices that don’t support growth
  • Build an environment where development and performance coexist
  • Celebrate progress and visible results along the way

This mindset shift isn’t just about better management, but rather about transforming into a value-driven, future-focused business.

Start growing roses.

To move your business forward, you need to lead with intention.

Here are some actionable steps to help you get started

• • Define your vision for your business
  • Align your leadership team
  • Train your staff to have forward-looking conversations
  • Create systems for consistency and follow-through
  • Celebrate every step forward

The following content was originally published by BOMA. We have updated some of this article for our readers.