Women founders will get a new scale program and the Business Bank of England will double its commitment to women-led businesses and funds to £200m, Chancellor John Healey announced in Wednesday’s Budget.
The measures are part of a wider package aimed at “building the companies of the future in the UK”, in the words of the Chancellor, which also includes a 10 per cent Capital Gains Tax rate for founders, higher trading allowances and cost of living support for young entrepreneurs.
Healey mentioned the Women in Tech Taskforce when she confirmed the female founders program. The task force is a government advisory group established to address barriers that prevent women from entering, remaining and leading in the technology sector.
According to the Budget 2026 document published by the Treasury, women make up 21 percent of the digital workforce. The document says the new Tech Forward and Inclusive Investment Standards, led by the task force, will help overcome barriers women face in raising capital and working in technology.
It describes a scale-up program to support female founders across the UK, which it says builds on existing Investing in Women Code and Investing in Women Taskforce initiatives.
The Treasury also stated that the British Business Bank has developed a commitment pipeline for women-led funds of more than £100m. This includes the first fund managers identified through Investor Pathways Capital, which according to the Budget document overcomes the barriers faced in accessing financial networks and investors.
The state-owned bank is one of its supporters as the Invest in Women Taskforce secures more than £250m for women entrepreneurs by 2024, alongside Barclays, M&G, Morgan Stanley, the Visa Foundation, BGF and Aviva.
The Women in Tech Taskforce was launched in December 2025 by Liz Kendall as Technology Secretary. It was chaired by Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon, founder of Stemettes, who was appointed as a Woman in Tech Envoy.
At launch, the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Technology said that start-ups founded by women received 5.9 times less funding than those founded by men. It costs the economy women leaving the tech sector or changing jobs by an estimated £2bn to £3.5bn per year.
Funding has featured in other recent research on women in business. In a survey of 1,000 female entrepreneurs for the National Women’s Business Week, published in June, lack of funding and low visibility are the main challenges to developing a business from the current location of the founder, each cited by 27 percent.
The new founders’ relief will apply a 10 per cent Capital Gains Tax rate on lifetime gains of up to £10m from 6 April 2027, according to Budget documents. It sits next to the age limit for Business Asset Disposal Assistance from £1m to £500,000, as reported by Business Matters on Wednesday.
Trading allowance, the amount a new business can receive tax-free, will triple from £1,000 to £3,000 from the same date. The young entrepreneur allowance will cover living expenses for young founders.
Healey told Parliament: “I believe that when business founders take risks, build exceptional companies, create wealth for the UK, we need to recognize that success and keep them to invest again.”
Michelle Ovens CBE, founder and chief executive of Small Business Britain, said: “Support for female entrepreneurs through the British Business Bank is also an important step towards unlocking the potential of women in business.”
He added: “It is encouraging to see the Chancellor recognizing the huge contribution 5.7 million small businesses make to the UK economy, and the importance of supporting entrepreneurs across the country.”
In trading allowances, Ovens said: “With more people starting businesses as side hustles, we need to facilitate those ambitions into thriving businesses.”
“Today is a positive step forward, and we must continue to work to ensure everyone, whatever their background, has the opportunity to start and grow a business,” he said.