Alison Rose, RBS CEO

The bank has also announced that it is setting a target to support and inspire 500k people to consider starting a business, of whom at least 60% will be female, in order to help create at least 50k new businesses by 2023.

The Female Entrepreneurship Funding builds directly on a key finding from The Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship (‘the Rose Review’), that the single biggest issue holding female entrepreneurs back is the lack of funding directed towards them.

According to the Rose Review, female-led businesses receive less funding than those headed by men at every stage of their journey. Women launch businesses with 53% less capital on average than men, are less aware of funding options and are less likely to take on debt.

Open to both new and existing customers, the funding represents new lending into the UK economy and is intended to go some way to closing the gap with male entrepreneurs.

The new targets will make RBS the biggest supporter of start-ups in the UK. The bank will increase the level of support provided through its accelerator programme, and other initiatives and partnerships such as ‘Back Her Business’ and The Prince’s Trust.

This support is designed to tap into the unrealised potential for the UK economy and will be open to anyone who is looking to start-up a business, regardless of whether they are a customer of the bank or not.

Alison Rose, RBS CEO, said: “The funding and targets announced today will help support anyone who is thinking about starting a business throughout the UK. There is much more to come. Building a business is often tough and lonely and can be harder than it needs to be. By tackling the most important issues facing our entrepreneurs, we can make a real difference to those who need it most, especially in female-led businesses.”

Andrea Leadsom, business secretary, added: “Building on the groundbreaking work of the Rose review, RBS is offering a real boost for the country’s female entrepreneurs and for the whole British business community. Their new investment supports our ambition to make the UK the best place in the world to work and to grow a business.”

Simon Clarke, exchequer secretary to the Treasury, said: “It is shocking that only one in three entrepreneurs are women, and just one penny in every pound of investment goes to female-led firms. That is why the Treasury commissioned the Rose Review to explore the barriers to female entrepreneurs and how we can close that gap.

“This £1bn of funding is a tremendous step forward and demonstrates the finance sector’s commitment to promote female entrepreneurship in the United Kingdom.“