Female entrepreneurs generated £3.51 billion for UK economy, research shows

Female entrepreneurs in the UK generated £3.51 billion for the economy and helped to boost employment in 2015, creating over 75,000 jobs, according to research by NatWest.

The research also showed a growth in the number of female-led businesses between 2009 and 2012, with the proportion of businesses increasing from 3.7 per cent to 7.1 per cent.

Supported

NatWest’s research was supported by figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which showed that the number of businesses founded by females increased every year between 2006 and 2013, rising from 58,000 to 139,000.

The number of female-led businesses in 2014 stood at 116,000, rising to 126,000 in 2015. According to the report, if the level of female entrepreneurship growth had been maintained between 2012 and 2015, then 2015 would have seen an additional £1.35 billion being generated for the UK economy.

London currently has the highest number of businesses run by women in the UK at 33,000, followed by Manchester at 5,200, Birmingham at 5,100 and Leeds at 3,700.

Positive

Development Economics Managing Director Steve Lucas stated that women are a crucial part of the enterprise economy in the UK, so it is positive that the rate of female-led start-ups has been increasing as women take advantage of the opportunities across a range of sectors.

He said that the UK is still behind the US and Canada, which have a significantly higher proportion of women entrepreneurs, but if the UK can boost its efforts to support women entrepreneurs, there is a definite chance for more economic growth.