Written evidence submitted by Ms Becky Cotton, Co-Founder and CEO, Lumino [FEN0019]

Dear Members of the Women and Equalities Select Committee,

I welcome this inquiry and recognise the work of the Committee in examining this incredibly important issue.

Female entrepreneurship plays a vital role in the UK’s economy, yet systemic barriers continue to prevent women from accessing the same opportunities as their male counterparts. I am pleased to contribute my perspective to this inquiry and would be very willing to provide oral evidence should the Committee wish.

The evidence I provide is based on my personal experience as a founder and mentor, as well as my work in health technology, innovation, and policy.

Background

I am the co-founder of Lumino, a digital therapeutics company focused on improving access to evidence-based treatments. My work at Lumino builds on over 15 years of experience in healthcare at a national level in the UK. Previously, I was Director of Mental Health Policy at the NHS Confederation, where I chaired the Mental Health Policy Group, a coalition of leading national organisations, including Mind, Rethink Mental Illness, and the Royal College of Psychiatrists. In that role, I co-authored the Group’s 2015 Manifesto for Better Mental Health, which helped secure a £2.3bn per year commitment to mental health funding.

My expertise extends into entrepreneurship and innovation. Through a Churchill Fellowship, I studied digital approaches to mental health across Australia and the USA, and I hold an Executive MBA from the University of Cambridge, where I was awarded the Sainsbury’s Scholarship and Director’s Award. I mentor on the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme, which supports healthcare professionals in developing and scaling innovation, and on EnterpriseTECH STAR at the University of Cambridge, guiding promising postgraduate and doctoral students as they transition into entrepreneurship.

Beyond the Deficit Lens: The Real Barriers Facing Women Entrepreneurs

Too often, female entrepreneurship is framed through a deficit lens—as if women don’t achieve the same levels of business success because they lack skills, knowledge, or confidence. This is a flawed diagnosis of the problem.

The real issue is not that women need more training, mentoring, or workshops on imposter syndrome. The issue is that they do not have equitable access to capital, networks, and sponsorship. If we misdiagnose the problem, we get the wrong policy response—one that focuses on “fixing” women rather than fixing the systemic barriers that block them from scaling businesses.

For years, we’ve funded an industry of providers to run mentoring schemes, which, while valuable in some cases, have not moved the needle. What actually shifts the dial is access to money and power—the same factors that benefit many male entrepreneurs through established networks and sponsorship.

The Role of Government: Moving Beyond Tokenism

It is sometimes suggested that government has little role in this, as investment decisions are made in the private sector. But that ignores a fundamental fact: government is one of the largest funders of early-stage innovation in the UK.

In my sector, health tech, major public funders—including Innovate UK and NIHR —are critical in determining which companies survive and scale. I am immensely grateful for the public investment my company has received, including most recently from the Scottish Government’s excellent Civtech programme (which itself is an exemplar in supporting gender diverse teams – I would highly recommend the Committee speak with them), but the system remains fundamentally inequitable.

The problem is this:

• Funding for female entrepreneurship is often treated as a niche issue, delegated to small EDI teams with tiny pots of money rather than embedded into core investment decisions.
• There is little transparency on how much of major funding bodies’ capital (e.g., Innovate UK’s grants) actually reaches female-led businesses.
• Women hit a ‘valley of death’—they may secure small grants, but when it comes to scaling and raising private investment, they lose out.

The Hidden Problem: British Business Bank and Angel Investment Oversight

• A significant issue is what happens within angel investment networks—many of which are funded with public money by the British Business Bank.
• If you speak to female founders about their experiences with some angel investor groups, you’ll hear horror stories. Many have experienced dismissive attitudes, biased questioning, or outright exclusion from investment opportunities. These issues are rarely discussed publicly because the data isn’t there, the oversight isn’t there, and the accountability isn’t there.
• This is public money. The British Business Bank should be able to demonstrate that the angel groups they fund are making investment decisions free from bias.
• If the government is serious about making funding access fairer, then ensuring proper monitoring, reporting, and intervention in these investment networks, where they enjoy the support of public money, is essential.

The Economic Case for Change

This matters not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it’s an economic necessity. If the UK is serious about growth, job creation, and global competitiveness, we need to back the winners of the future—and that includes female-led businesses.

The data is clear:

• Women-led businesses generate more revenue per pound of investment than those led by men[1].
• If women started and scaled businesses at the same rate as men, it could add £250bn to the UK economy[2].

Yet we continue to underfund and under-support female founders in the very sectors that drive high-growth, high-impact innovation.

What Needs to Change

The UK does not need another round of reports acknowledging the problem. We need policy change that moves money and decision-making power.

Other countries have already taken action. Canada has a dedicated Women’s Entrepreneurship Strategy[3], a $6 billion initiative aimed at increasing access to financing, networks, and expertise for women entrepreneurs, supporting the growth of women-led businesses, and promoting gender equality in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The UK should urgently adopt similar approaches.

Recommendations

1. Full transparency on funding – All government-backed funding bodies, including Innovate UK and the British Business Bank, should publish gender-disaggregated data on where their money goes.
2. A fundamental shift in investment allocation – Major public funders should move beyond EDI side projects and embed gender-equitable investment as a core priority.
3. A solution to the ‘valley of death’ – The government should introduce scale-up funding mechanisms to support female-led businesses at the point where private capital often fails them.
4. Oversight of angel investment networks – The British Business Bank must monitor the groups it funds to ensure female founders are not facing bias or exclusion in investment decisions.
5. Accountability for VC firms – If a venture capital firm benefits from public funding or tax incentives, they should be required to demonstrate gender-equitable investment decisions.

Conclusion: Back Women, Back the Economy

This is not just about fairness. It’s about economic strategy.

Female-led businesses are driving innovation, creating jobs, and generating tax revenue that funds our public services. Yet we continue to underfund and undervalue them. If the UK wants to compete on the global stage, we cannot afford to keep excluding female entrepreneurs from investment at scale.

The time for incremental change is over. We need bold action, reallocated funding, and structural reform to unlock the full potential of female entrepreneurs in the UK.

I would welcome the opportunity to discuss these issues further and provide oral evidence to the Committee.

Yours sincerely,

Co-Founder and CEO, Lumino

March 2025