Spotlight on our Female Founders and PACP Partners

We are thrilled to celebrate this annual focus on the achievements of women, and in particular the outstanding successes of our female entrepreneurs and investors.

The number of women investors is rising, and a recent report highlighted that Female Angels made investments worth £2 billion and created 10,000 UK jobs in the last 10 years.

A Positive Step in the Right Direction for Female Entrepreneurship

It was encouraging to see the statistics revealed in the recent annual progress report of the recommendations of The Rose Review; a government-backed, independent review of female entrepreneurship launched in 2019 and led by Dame Alison Rose, Chief Executive of NatWest Group.

With a pledge to create 3 million places for women to access business support over the next 3 years, the latest figures reveal that 151,603 companies had been established by women in the last year, up by 6,332 on the previous year’s data. This represents 20% of all incorporations.

The report also highlighted the significant impact that can be achieved by breaking down barriers faced by women entrepreneurs, estimating that this could boost the economy by £250 billion.

Statistics also remind us that businesses with women in the boardroom achieve greater success than all male boards.

At PACP, we are proud to be an organisation that believes in and supports female founders, who as we know are underrepresented when it comes to fundraising.

In the last 2 years alone, we have worked with a significant number of female founders, all leading innovative and rapidly growing businesses across many sectors.

The tide is turning, much slower than we would like, but it is definitely a positive step in the right direction.

Spotlight on Our Female PACP Partners

Pippa Bazalgette – Consumer Hub, TMT

“Since joining PACP four years ago, I am proud to have leveraged my experience of running and growing entrepreneurial businesses to support a diverse array of founders launching and scaling their companies. Founding a business is never easy and requires resilience, tenacity and sheer determination – as well as a great business concept! It’s a real honour to work with founders to realise their dreams

In 2020, through the launch of PACP’s female investment community, EVE, I became aware of the barriers encountered by female founders and, in particular, the challenges they face in raising investment.

My role at PACP enables me to both support female founders and provide potential opportunities for angels looking to invest in women. The encouraging signs of progress since The Rose Review are great to see, but there is still much to be done. IWD is an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women and advancements in improving gender parity, whilst recognising that further work is very much needed.”

Please click here to view Pippa’s profile on our website.

Sharon O’Connor – Consumer Hub, FemTech, FemHealth

“I have had a thoroughly enjoyable and successful career in some of the UK’s most credible women’s fashion brands.

Leadership roles for women in fashion, in my experience, have been far more accessible than some other industries. I didn’t experience the glass ceiling that women have in other sectors.

I now work with loads of amazing female founders, as well as male founders. Supporting people who have a great idea on their journey to growth and success is my new day job, and I love it!

IWD means so much more to me, probably more than ever now, as I support female founders and investors in my role at PACP.

I also raise our daughter, Yasmin, pictured here with me. I’m so pleased that she is growing up in a world where inclusivity is top of the agenda for so many and proud of the conversations that we have about this on a daily basis.”

Please click here to view Sharon’s profile on our website.

Célia Pronto – Consumer Hub, Travel, Leisure, Hospitality, Technology

“Throughout my executive career I’ve frequently been the only female around the boardroom table. Although I felt that it put me at an advantage, as it gave me the opportunity to stand out, I also felt the weight of responsibility to get more women around the table with me.

I saw first-hand the benefits of having a truly balanced point of view, with better business outcomes, in organisations where we were able to achieve gender balance.

It’s this passion that was part of the attraction of joining PACP, where I now get to work with the most incredible and talented female founders, creating modern solutions to the world’s problems.This year’s IWD theme of embracing equity is particularly close to my heart – coming from Mozambique in Southern Africa, I have seen the impact of bias, stereotypes and discrimination first hand, and believe in a world where women’s achievements are supported, recognised and, above all, celebrated.”

Please click here to view Célia’s profile on our website.