A growth initiative, with a regional board in Birmingham, has rebranded as it looks to scale up and cement the UK as the gender smart investment capital of the world.
The Whole Point, formerly known as The Lifted Project, is a UK-wide, government-aligned initiative to increase funding to women-led businesses. Using data-driven insights to highlight the benefits of backing women, five regional boards are already established in Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, and Newcastle.
Now in its next phase of growth, The Whole Point is building on the 4,000+ hours of support it has already delivered and the 350 women-led businesses it has helped, alongside securing Lloyds Banking Group as a founding national sponsor.
Chaired by co-founder Zandra Moore MBE, the project is a delivery and insight partner for the government’s Invest in Women Taskforce’s national data taxonomy project, aiming to create a consistent definition of women-led businesses across UK funders, lenders and the government to achieve comparable data.
Zandra, a data and AI specialist based in Leeds, comments: “Without standardised data, thousands of female founders across our regions are missing out on vital funding that could propel their businesses to the next stage. We know that in the UK, only 2% of funding goes to women-led businesses – and more than half of that doesn’t leave London. Billions of pounds are being left on the table while businesses are navigating years of political instability in our economy.
“The Whole Point is committed to driving change in 2026; we need data, not gestures, to prove that when you back women, economies grow. It’s this standardised approach to data that will help increase funding for businesses that are poised for growth.”
The Birmingham board includes representatives from British Business Bank, Business Growth West Midlands, and Innovate UK. Alongside regional investors Future Planet Capital Regional and Minerva Business Angels, banks including The Whole Point sponsor, Lloyds Bank, and local female founders.
The board is co-chaired by Tara Attfield-Tomes, founder of visibility agency EAST VILLAGE. and The 51% Club, an organisation that supports women-powered businesses from pre-revenue to policy change; and Hephzi Pemberton, founder of Equality Group.
Tara comments: “Over the past two years, we have established our board as a real driver for high-growth women-led businesses in the region and this rebrand marks a significant shift change for us. We have big ambitions and the work being done at policy level, alongside the Invest in Women Taskforce, demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that brilliant women right here in the region are getting access to the capital they need to truly scale.
The UK’s economy could benefit from a £250 billion boost if women started and scaled their businesses at the same rate as men. This Board is committed to identifying these women-led businesses, implementing programmes and initiatives to support them as they scale and, most importantly, getting investors into the region and deploying capital.”
The Whole Point is championing using data, not box-ticking, to increase funding for women-led businesses which are ready to scale. Combining expert knowledge, visibility and recognition, networks and community with capital and influence, the scheme is poised to drive change regionally.
With a mission of creating a policy which is informed by evidence, not assumptions, the initiative is rolling out a series of Money Talks roundtables following the success in Leeds, delivering expert-led finance and tax guidance for female founders navigating £500k – £5m growth phases, as well as creating The Whole Point Index; a live, regional data dashboard showcasing rising women-led businesses across the UK.
“The UK already matches the rest of Europe for women-led companies valued at over $1 billion, so we need to fix the one-sided system that currently only serves the south. Then, the UK doesn’t just recover, we lead,” Zandra adds.
To find out more about The Whole Point and opportunities to support, visit thewholepoint.co.uk.
