Unlocking the Power of Women’s Entrepreneurship Across the UK
WE Innovate National is a pioneering, university-led initiative tackling the persistent gender gap in UK entrepreneurship. Building on the success of Imperial College London’s WE Innovate programme, this new national rollout brings together a powerful consortium of UK universities to provide women founders with the skills, networks, and confidence to launch and scale their ventures — wherever they are in the UK.
Why It Matters
The economic potential of women entrepreneurs in the UK remains vastly untapped. Women represent just 34% of the UK’s entrepreneurs, and in 2022, only 3% of venture capital funding went to women-led startups (Rose Review, 2023). Regional disparities deepen this gap.
Closing this divide could add up to £250 billion to the UK economy.
WE Innovate National is our response: a bold step forward to level the playing field and foster a new generation of women-led innovation from Belfast to Bristol, Leeds to London.
The Mission
Our mission is clear: to de-risk entrepreneurship for women, expand access to high-quality support across all UK regions, and create a powerful pipeline of future leaders.
By 2030, we aim to have engaged and supported over 1,000 women-led teams through a growing network of higher education institutions.
What Is WE Innovate?
Running for over a decade, WE Innovate is Imperial's flagship pre-accelerator for women-led teams and the first entrepreneurship programme supporting women-founders in any UK university. Open to students, recent graduates, and early career researchers, the programme equips participants with entrepreneurial, leadership and pitching skills through:
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Masterclasses in everything from customer discovery to fundraising.
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1:1 business coaching and peer mentoring.
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Equity-free funding to remove barriers, including care-related grants.
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National exposure, culminating in a Grand Final and Demo Day.
Since 2014, over 500 women have been supported through WE Innovate, with many going on to raise significant investment and lead ventures transforming health, sustainability, and technology sectors.
Support us
This is more than a sponsorship opportunity — it’s a chance to directly shape a more inclusive and innovative UK economy.
Let’s talk about how your organisation can be part of this change.
Whether you’re a university keen to partner, an organisation looking to sponsor, or an individual wanting to support, we’d love to hear from you.
Contact
Sarah Ranchev-Hale
Head of Imperial Enterprise Lab
📧 s.ranchev-hale@imperial.ac.uk