- Regions take the lead in a bid to drive use of data, unlock innovation and combat gender divisions in business funding.
- Only 2% of funding in the UK goes to women-led businesses – and more than half of that doesn’t leave London.
A regional growth initiative 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 women-led businesses 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.”
Since its launch, The Whole Point has engaged 76 members across its five regional boards and piloted a scheme in Leeds to build evidence, networks and infrastructure demonstrating that when women-led businesses are backed, the whole economy benefits.
Zandra adds: “In Leeds alone we have over 15,000 active female directors – 50% more than the next closest city – yet fewer than 90 have been backed to scale. It’s a vastly missed opportunity. Working with Lloyds, we delivered panel discussions on scaling, funding and navigating growth barriers, driving direct engagement between founders and institutional capital. The West Yorkshire Combined Authority sponsored a Built to Rise Accelerator programme, helping 11 women-led scale ups be investment-ready with strategic planning and leadership planning, providing direct pathways to regional and national funding networks.
“Partnering with accountancy specialists Azets and law firm Mills & Reeve, we delivered three integral deep-dive sessions around financials, legalities and tax; precision support for founders who are dealing with complex growth decisions. The delegates reported increased confidence in leading, pitching and negotiating as well as creating investment readiness for institutional capital, not just grants. We’ve proved the model works and we’ve built the infrastructure – now we’re ready to scale that to other regions in the country to deliver real outcomes.”
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 women-led businesses 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
