(Image: Supplied)
A North East entrepreneur joined a London roundtable with one of Britain’s senior banking figures to discuss the challenges facing female founders.
Max Freer, founder of Teesside-based Female Founder UK, joined other businesswomen and NatWest chief financial officer Katie Murray at the bank’s London office.
They discussed the barriers and opportunities facing women in business, including funding, marketing in the age of AI, visibility and the economy.
Ms Freer said: "What I have particularly welcomed from Katie is the recognition that it’s not just help with opening a bank account or accessing finance that female founders need, although she is doing her best to support women with that.
Max Freer, who has set up Female Founder UK on Teesside (Image: Supplied)
"Katie also recognised the need for a sense of community, belonging and companionship amongst female entrepreneurs and talked about access to expertise and opportunities."
Brand marketing and media expert Ms Freer launched Female Founder UK on Teesside to support women at every stage of business.
She said the roundtable echoed what women across the UK are telling her organisation.
Ms Freer said: "This chimes with what is coming through as part of the Female Founders United conversation we are having across the country, where women in business are telling us there is a need for more help with their visibility, validation and recognition.
Max Freer, who has set up Female Founder UK on Teesside (Image: Supplied)
"More partnership working between different organisations, from banks through to training companies, marketing organisations and communities of businesswomen like ours, could deliver that for women."
She also cited the 2019 Rose Review, led by former NatWest chief executive Alison Rose, which found that closing the gender gap in entrepreneurship could add £310 billion to the UK economy.
After the review, the Government and industry set a target to increase the number of female entrepreneurs by 50 per cent by 2030, supporting around 600,000 new female-led businesses.
NatWest has since expanded its support for women in business with programmes and resources beyond traditional banking services.
The programmes include UK-wide city accelerators offering co-working space to all founders, whether they bank with NatWest or not.
Ms Freer was inspired by stories of women overcoming health challenges to launch products and leaving corporate jobs to improve their work-life balance or deliver services in new ways.
Women are increasingly starting businesses for complex reasons and facing opportunities and challenges along the way.
The Government, local authorities, B2B firms, banks and financial institutions have a chance to support women at every stage — from businesses below the VAT threshold to multimillion-pound enterprises.
"Female Founder UK exists as a movement that supports every female founder – wherever they want their entrepreneurial journey to take them."
The roundtable came as NatWest announced plans to expand its She Scales initiative nationwide.
The programme has held 68 events for more than 1,800 people, many of whom said they felt more confident and better equipped to grow their businesses.
Many women at the roundtable belonged to the Buy Women Built community, led by founder Sahar Hashemi OBE, who also attended.
Buy Women Built is a consumer movement championing female-founded brands and women-led businesses.
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Female Founder UK is holding events across the country to gather views and support female entrepreneurs.
The findings will feed into a national report on female entrepreneurship and the barriers women face when starting and growing businesses.
Ms Freer said she felt “very privileged” to join the conversation and praised NatWest’s work supporting female founders at every stage.