According to new study, half of female entrepreneurs have had their loan applications denied, placing strain on the government’s plans to strengthen the British economy.
Due to having children, several female company owners have complained that they are considered as “part-timers” or as less serious professionals than their male colleagues.
Financial platform Tide discovered that 53% of women in the UK stated that having limited access to money has made it difficult for them to launch their own businesses.
The biggest obstacle to effectively beginning a business was perceived to be being denied access to capital or a loan.
For black women, the difficulties were much more obvious; more than two thirds of black female business owners found the procedure difficult.
It highlights the additional obstacles that certain women from ethnic minorities encounter, as opposed to the somewhat less than half of white and Indian women who claimed as much.
The report also highlighted geographical differences, highlighting how more businesswomen in Scotland and Yorkshire and the Humber struggle to secure financing than in any other region.
According to the poll, half of female entrepreneurs in the UK who request for a loan or investment to finance their new business are turned down.
The Aesthetic Accountants founder Samantha Senior admitted that as a self-employed mother and after suffering a setback during Covid, it was difficult for her to acquire financing.
She also mentioned encountering “typical” viewpoints in the accountancy field, which is dominated by men.
“Myself and other female accountants have seen we still run up against old ideas on sometimes that accountancy is a male-dominated field,” she said.
Some senior male London accountants have the impression that women professionals are less serious about their work than men.
“We can be perceived as part-timers who juggle employment with raising our kids, but we’re working hard to dispel these myths.”
The conclusions are made despite the government’s efforts to spur economic expansion and increase corporate investment at a time when the economy is stagnant.
Gross domestic product (GDP) increased by just 0.01% in the final three months of 2022, narrowly preventing the UK from entering a recession.
Nonetheless, a number of financial institutions have vowed to enhance female entrepreneurs’ chances of success when it comes to obtaining crucial capital.
The Investing in Women Code, which formally pledges the firms to supporting female-founded businesses, has been signed by almost 190 financial services institutions.
Members of the code include large lenders like NatWest, Lloyds Bank, Barclays, and Santander.
More women than ever will start businesses in 2022, according to a recent progress report by the Rose Review, an independent study of female entrepreneurship chaired by Dame Alison Rose, the CEO of NatWest Group.
According to the data, more than twice as many new businesses as in 2018 were launched during the year, totaling 150,000.
Additionally, Tide claimed to have assisted more than 100,000 female-owned enterprises in their early stages of development.
