According to recent reports, businesses founded by all-female teams receive only 2% of venture capital funding. As a result, several initiatives have been established to support female entrepreneurs, including Lifted Ventures, founded by former NorthInvest angel network leaders Jordan Dargue and Helen Oldham, and an investment programme established by investment manager Rebecca MacDermid at Maven, her private equity firm. MacDermid is piloting an initiative to provide resources, mentorship, and collaboration opportunities to female-led businesses through workshops and funding clinics. The objective is to encourage and support female entrepreneurs to build, grow, and scale their businesses.
MacDermid states that “Less than 3% of female founders receive investment. If women started and scaled new businesses at the same rate as men, we could add £250 billion of new value, which is a no-brainer!” Despite the slow improvement in the situation, female representation in venture and private equity firms remains low. The initiative is part of the £660m Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II managed by Maven.
MacDermid’s responsibilities as an investment manager at Maven includes deal origination and working on live deals, while the fund can support businesses at every stage of the life cycle, from startups to established businesses. She is part of a four-strong investment team that has provided over £100m in support to 48 companies in the region.
The North East offers investment opportunities in emerging growth areas such as MarTech, EdTech, AgriTech, and HealthTech. According to MacDermid, tech is particularly exciting, and the company has a strong pipeline in this sector. The North East region has a thriving tech sector, with technology, games development, health, and life sciences as the most promising areas.
