A research instrument · For a white paper
Barriers, Outcomes & Opportunities
A study of Black female-led businesses in the UK.
Purpose
To document the lived experiences of Black female founders on access to finance, investor relationships, and growth outcomes — evidence for a specialist accelerator and growth programme.
Who should complete this
Black women who own or have owned a business in the UK — trading, exited, or closed. Your experience is needed.
Time
Approximately 15–20 minutes to complete.
Confidentiality
Responses are anonymised in the white paper unless you explicitly consent to be named. Data is reported to protect identities.
Why this matters
In the US, Black women are the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs, yet receive under 0.34% of venture capital. In the UK, an FCDO report found Black female entrepreneurs receive only 6% of the capital they demand.
US lessons
Some founders scaled to hundreds of millions; others, like Ami Colé, raised and closed within years. We want to know whether UK founders see the same patterns.
How your input is used
Evidence for the white paper “The Black Female Founder Funding Crisis: UK Evidence, US Lessons, and a Path Forward”, the design of a specialist accelerator, and advocacy with investors, banks and policymakers.
Contact
Questions, or prefer to share your story by interview? Write to hello@femalefounderfunding.com.
Section 1 · Founder & Business Profile
These questions help us understand the demographic and business context. All responses are anonymised.
Q1 · Select all that apply
What is your ethnic background?
Q2 · One answer
What is your current role in the business?
Q3 · Choose one
In which year did you start your business?
Q4 · One answer
What sector does/did your business operate in?
Q5 · One answer
What is/was your business model?
Q6 · One answer
Where is/was your business based?
Q7 · Include yourself
How many employees do/did you have at your peak?
Q8 · One answer
What was your revenue in the last 12 months (or last full trading year)?
Q9 · One answer
What is/was your total funding raised to date (all sources combined)?
Consent & submission
Before you send it in
0 of 54 questions answered. Your story goes to the research team, not into a marketing list.
What happens next
Once submitted, your response is logged and anonymised. It informs the white paper and the design of support that actually works for Black female founders.