- The Whole Point regional boards are taking the lead in a bid to drive use of data, unlock innovation and combat gender divisions in business funding.
- In the last five years, the split of Newcastle companies receiving funding demonstrates that 71% of them were male led, 14% were evenly led, 12% were women led and 3% had unknown leadership
- Only 2% of funding in the UK goes to women-led businesses – and more than half of that doesn’t leave London.
A growth initiative, with a regional board in Newcastle, has rebranded as it looks to scale up and cement the UK as the gender smart investment capital of the world.
The Whole Point, formerly known as The Lifted Project, is a UK-wide, government-aligned initiative to increase funding to women-led businesses. Using data-driven insights to highlight the benefits of backing women, five regional boards are already established in Edinburgh, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, and Newcastle.
Now in its next phase of growth, The Whole Point is building on the 4,000+ hours of support it has already delivered and the 350 women-led businesses it has helped, alongside securing Lloyds Banking Group as a founding national sponsor.
Co-Founded by Zandra Moore MBE, The Whole Point project is a delivery and insight partner for the government’s Invest in Women Taskforce’s national data taxonomy project, aiming to create a consistent definition of women-led businesses across UK funders, lenders and the government to achieve comparable data.
Zandra, a data and AI specialist based in Leeds, comments: “Without standardised data, thousands of female founders across our regions are missing out on vital funding that could propel their businesses to the next stage. We know that in the UK, only 2% of funding goes to women-led businesses – and more than half of that doesn’t leave London. Billions of pounds are being left on the table while businesses are navigating years of political instability in our economy.
“The Whole Point is committed to driving change in 2026; we need data, not gestures, to prove that when you back women, economies grow. It’s this standardised approach to data that will help increase funding for businesses that are poised for growth.”
Since its launch, The Whole Point has engaged 76 members across its five regional boards and piloted a scheme in Leeds to build evidence, networks and infrastructure demonstrating that when women-led businesses are backed, the whole economy benefits.
The Newcastle board, chaired by Debra Leeves and vice-chaired by Nina Walton, is driving ambitious support for women-led scale-up businesses across the region. The board will accelerate investment readiness for follow-on funding, and help women diversify and scale with confidence. Alongside business growth, it will champion personal wealth planning and, where appropriate exit strategies, while building a powerful network of like-minded women committed to backing and championing one another.
Debra Leeves, chair of The Whole Point Newcastle board, comments: “Newcastle is home to a vibrant and diverse business community, spanning innovative SMEs, major corporates, and a wide range of public service organisations across education, healthcare, life sciences and real estate. Within this dynamic ecosystem, a growing number of women-led scale-up businesses are calling for more coordinated and cohesive support across the region.
“As a board, we are committed to working alongside these women, as well as with regional organisations specialising in finance, legal advisory and other professional services. Our goal is to ensure we complement one another’s expertise rather than compete, creating a connected support network that delivers the full spectrum of guidance and resources women-led businesses need to scale successfully.
The Newcastle board brings together an accomplished group of professional women, including CEOs, lawyers, venture capital partners, founders, business owners and entrepreneurs, united by a shared commitment to accelerating the growth of women-led businesses’’
Zandra adds: “Our pilot scheme in Leeds in partnership with Lloyds, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Azets and Mills & Reeve helped 11 women-led scale ups be investment-ready with strategy and leadership planning, provisioning direct pathways to regional and national funding networking and deep-dive sessions around financials, legalities and tax.
“These provided precision support for founders dealing with complex growth decisions and the delegates reported increased confidence in leading, pitching and negotiating, as well as creating investment readiness for institutional capital, not just grants. We’ve proved the model works and we’ve built the infrastructure – now we’re ready to scale that to other regions in the country to deliver real outcomes.”
The Whole Point is championing using data, not box-ticking, to increase funding for women-led businesses which are ready to scale. Combining expert knowledge, visibility and recognition, networks and community with capital and influence, the scheme is poised to drive change regionally.
With a mission of creating a policy which is informed by evidence, not assumptions, the initiative is rolling out a series of Money Talks roundtables following the success in Leeds, delivering expert-led finance and tax guidance for female founders navigating £500k – £5m growth phases, as well as creating The Whole Point Index; a live, regional data dashboard showcasing rising women-led businesses across the UK.
“The UK already matches the rest of Europe for women-led companies valued at over $1 billion, so we need to fix the one-sided system that currently only serves the south. Then, the UK doesn’t just recover, we lead,” Zandra adds.
To find out more about The Whole Point and opportunities to support, visit thewholepoint.co.uk