The survey, which involved 316 female founders from all four home nations of the UK, showed that 92% believed their business proposition had growth potential. More than half (52.1%) of those polled are currently focused on scaling their businesses with nearly two in five (38.8%) keen to achieve growth on an international scale. 41% of respondents said they were actively seeking investment to grow their companies.

The female founders who were surveyed represent a broad range of sectors including financial & business services, technology, life sciences, food and drink, and creative industries. Less than a quarter of the respondents are currently engaged with AccelerateHER and its network, while well over half (58.5%) said they were keen to grow their network and connect with other female founders or individuals who could support their business journey.

Access to finance was cited as a key issue with 50% of respondents saying this was proving a barrier to growth. Less than a third (29.7%) of those polled cited self-doubt or lack of confidence in their abilities as a barrier to success, but nearly two in five said getting access to the right resources and guidance was a challenge.

Some of the core concerns raised within the qualitative research conducted by AccelerateHER included constraints over resources and finance; cashflow issues, especially with late payments from large companies; and the struggle in managing work-life balance with many female founders juggling childcare and other responsibilities while managing their business.

AccelerateHER CEO Elizabeth Pirrie commented: “As we mark International Women’s Day, this comprehensive survey highlights the progress being made by female company founders across the UK.

“The findings challenge some of the existing conceptions about female company founders showing a majority of women believe they can scale their businesses, with many currently focused on achieving this on a global level.

“We are also highly encouraged to see that a large majority of female founders feel self-confident in developing their companies, an important area that AccelerateHER has been focused on in our work with aspiring businesswomen.”

Ms Pirrie continued: “With two in five female-led businesses seeking growth investment, getting access to finance remains a huge challenge. This key issue needs to be further addressed and will remain a key area of focus for AccelerateHER going forward.

“The need for additional resources and guidance, raised by a majority of survey respondents, is also shaping our own plans in developing new support measures to help overcome some of the main barriers the continue to confront female founders.

“Growing the numbers of scalable female-led businesses delivers universal economic benefits. We need to ensure that we all work together to help women overcome some of the existing barriers highlighted in our survey, and ensure we further increase female entrepreneurship across all regions of the UK.”