The 51% Club, the national ecosystem for female founders and leaders, has announced a new partnership with HSBC UK, which joins as its Regional Banking Partner.
The partnership brings together two organisations with a shared ambition: to open up a world of opportunity for women in business, and to make the Midlands one of the best places in the UK for women-led enterprise to grow and scale.
Born in Birmingham and now operating across five hubs nationally, The 51% Club has grown into one of the UK’s leading ecosystems for women founders and leaders in just over two years. Built around four rooms, Grow, Scale, Exit, and Lead, it supports women at every stage, from building their first business to scaling it, exiting it, and leading at the very top. More than 2,500 women are part of its community, alongside a calendar of events and programmes and its annual IGNITE conference, which welcomed 250 founders to Millennium Point in September.
Through the partnership, The 51% Club’s community gains closer access to HSBC UK’s support for women in business, including its Women’s Business Growth Initiative, which offers events, networking, masterclasses and personalised funding support to women business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs. Members will also be able to access the HSBC Small Business Growth Programme, which is free and open to all and delivers practical and engaging insights, events, and bite sized training.
With only two to four per cent of women-led businesses in the UK reaching £1 million in revenue, both organisations see the partnership as a way to change the numbers for women in the region and beyond.
Tara Attfield-Tomes, Founder of The 51% Club, said: “We are so proud to welcome HSBC UK as our Regional Banking Partner. From the very beginning, The 51% Club has been about building a real ecosystem for women in business, providing the support, the rooms, and the relationships they deserve, and doing it properly.
HSBC UK’s commitment to women entrepreneurs through its Women’s Business Growth Initiative sits right alongside that mission, so this is a partnership that just makes sense. For our community, it means even closer access to real support as they grow, and I can’t wait to see what we build together.”
Jagdeep Rai, Managing Director, UK Head of Coverage, SME Business Banking, said: “I’m proud to partner with The 51% Club to bring our community of women business owners together and support them throughout their business journey. Through education, meaningful connections and networking, alongside personalised one-to-one funding conversations, we can help open the door to new possibilities and give women the confidence and support to take their businesses forward.”
Tom Wood, Head of SME Business Banking, HSBC UK, said: “HSBC UK is committed to removing barriers that prevent women founders from starting, sustaining and scaling businesses. With female-only businesses receiving just 2% of venture capital in 2024, initiatives such as our Women’s Business Growth Initiative and our new partnership with The 51% Club are vital.”
“We also have our Small Business Growth programme which provides training, networking and events to help founders navigate funding and build resilience. Together, we can unlock more opportunities for women-led businesses and strengthen the UK economy.”
The partnership will run across The 51% Club’s events and programmes, with more activity to be announced in the coming months.
