Over 1,500 loans from the Start-Up Loans programme have been given to women in Wales since 2012 — equating to £14m in funding.
The loans given out in Wales form part of the UK Government-backed Start-Up Loans programme, through its economic development bank, the British Business Bank.
It has supplied 36,446 loans and over £306m in funding for women-led businesses since its inception in 2012.
This accounts for around 40% of the programme’s total delivery, around double the level of women business ownership in the UK.
One female entrepreneur in Wales who received the loan was Laura Mallows the founder of Mallows Beauty, a vegan beauty brand which is headquartered in Llantrisant.
Ms Mallows launched Mallows Beauty in February 2020 with a £25k British Business Bank Start-Up Loan via Business in Focus.
Since then, the brand has a flagship store in Cardiff city centre and has launched into Urban Outfitters stores nationwide with more national retail partnerships in the pipeline.
However, Ms Mallows has been speaking out about the ups and downs of her entrepreneurial journey including the gender-related bias she faced from investors and other business owners looking to collaborate with.
She said: “I have often found that there’s an undertone of ‘are you capable of this? In conversations with men in business, particularly if you’re a young female, even in a sector like beauty, which is largely female focused and economically driven by the vast purchasing power of women.”
However, she encouraged any woman considering starting a business to go for it.
“Don’t be intimidated. Get your business plan in place, seek the right advice, source the relevant funding, pitch to those people who you want to get in front of,” said Ms Mallows.
She added: “If your idea is good and you work really hard to realise your goals, then the barriers to entry for women in business are beginning to fall. But it’s up to us to ensure they finally do.”
Currently, only one in five businesses in the UK is run by a woman as access and awareness of funding, as well as family responsibilities, prevent women from becoming successful business owners.
Managing director of Start-Up Loans, Richard Bearman said: “No matter your gender, one of the keys to starting a business is having the encouragement and support to do so.”
“With International Women’s Day, it’s always fantastic to see our women business owners speaking up to inspire others to navigate the challenges and ultimately reap the benefits of being their own boss.”
