A conference aimed at cutting the gender investment gap is taking place in Belfast this month.
Northern Ireland’s Female Investment Day is a free to attend event organised by Ulster Bank in partnership with Invest NI, Intertrade Ireland, Women In Business, Dell Technologies and Belfast City Council. It is the first of its kind in Northern Ireland, building on the bank’s commitment to developing female entrepreneurial talent and will take place in Belfast’s City Hall on Thursday, September 26.
The gender investment gap refers to the fact that only 1p in every £1 of venture capital funding in the UK goes towards female-led businesses.
Over 130 female entrepreneurs, investors and funders from across the UK and Ireland have already signed up to attend. Focusing on the investment landscape, attendees will meet entrepreneurs and funders, hear from those who have raised outside funding and those who have invested in early stage and growing businesses.
Regional Director, Entrepreneurship at Ulster Bank, Lynsey Cunningham said: “At the Belfast Accelerator, one of our main objectives is to boost female entrepreneurs and as a bank we are proud to continue our leading role in building the people that build businesses. This is a practical and supportive event that will help put money behind some great examples of Northern Ireland’s female-led companies.
“It’s also going to help build network by showing great examples of people who have raised funding as well as senior funders who can articulate what they are looking for in an investable business idea.”
Sessions at the event will focus on some of the areas identified by the Rose Review into female entrepreneurship as being most important for growing women-led businesses including: access to relatable role models; creating a broad network of contacts; and getting access to external investment to fund growth.
Released on International Women’s Day last year, the Rose Review identified that women make up only 33% of entrepreneurs in the UK and that achieving parity in start-up rates between men and women could generate an additional £250billion to the UK economy.
Suzanne Wylie, Chief Executive of Belfast City Council, said supporting entrepreneurship was an important element of delivering the Belfast Agenda.
She commented: “Northern Ireland’s Female Investment Day is a prime example of how a strong partnership approach can help make the required improvements needed for female entrepreneurship to thrive in our city.
“The conference will address the many challenges facing female-led businesses and by hearing directly from these business owners, we hope to gain a greater understanding of the policy changes we can introduce at council level to mitigate these. We are looking forward to working in close collaboration with our city partners, to ensure that Belfast continues to foster the growth of female businesses.”