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New female-led investment and support platform aims to bridge gender funding gap

The UK’s first-ever female-focused funding platform, AllBright, has launched today aiming to redress the funding imbalance between male and female run businesses.

Comprising the AllBright Angel Network, crowdfunding platform AllBright Crowd and business education resource AllBright Academy, the platform aims to unearth, fund and support UK female entrepreneurs led by its experienced team of investors and founders.

The initiative has been established by Love Home Swap entrepreneur Debbie Wosskow, and Hearst Magazines UK Chief Executive Anna Jones, backed by an advisory board that includes Tammy Einav of creative agency Adam & Eve, Chairman of Corsair, Lord Davies and Ann Roughead of investment firm Columbia, Threadneedle.

With only 10% of global venture capital funds directed at female-led businesses, the programme aims to develop a support and investor network to help accelerate the growth of both female run startups and established businesses in an attempt to redress the marked gender funding gap.

Co-founder, Debbie Wosskow, said that the UK is chockful of ‘exceptional female business talent’ that is just waiting to be discovered, and that effective funding is crucial to realising their potential.

She commented: “I’ve been on the journey they are making and understand acutely the difference accessing the right funding and support can make, as do our network of angel investors.

“AllBright delivers on two fronts - not only do we get to ‘give back’ investing in and sharing our knowledge with the next generation, but there is also a real financial opportunity for our investors to benefit from the untapped asset class of some of the UK’s best female entrepreneurs.”

AllBright’s joined up approach combines funding from seed to venture investment, derived from both its angel network and its crowdfunding efforts.

However, as Anna Jones explains, access to support and education is just as important as funding which is why the programme is attempting to build an ecosystem of services for female entrepreneurs combining ‘capital, vital networks and the knowledge platform’ to help founders succeed.

Jones said: “Our combined experience and network means we have the ability to tackle every area a business needs to thrive from the start, super-charging both the companies and their executive teams.

“This isn’t just a win for existing businesses and investors, AllBright can also play a critical role for the British economy. Recent figures show that if every woman who wanted to run her own business, started a business then it could release a possible £10.1 billion boost to the UK economy.”

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