GIA Awards 2025 Finalists: Investing in Women - Initiative of the Year!
Angel Academe has been nominated as a finalist for the Investing in Women Initiative category at the Growth Investor Awards 2025. The nomination recognises the launch of our EIS fund, the first in the UK to focus exclusively on investing in female founders.
The Growth Investor Awards celebrate the UK SME investment community's role in job and wealth creation. This particular category honours initiatives that promote gender equality and support women entrepreneurs, creating a more inclusive ecosystem for female founders.
Breaking New Ground
In partnership with Syndicate Room, our EIS fund represents a significant milestone – for the first time ever, individual investors can back 7-10 female-founded high growth startups with a single ticket of £10,000 whilst benefiting from EIS tax reliefs. It's a game-changer that removes barriers for both investors and founders.
Since launching Angel Academe, we've invested in 55 female-founded startups across 100+ funding rounds, and built a community of predominantly women investors who understand that diversity delivers strong returns. The EIS fund takes this mission to the next level, making it easier than ever for people to back exceptional female entrepreneurs.
Why It Matters
Female founders still receive just 2% of UK venture capital funding, despite companies with diverse leadership teams consistently outperforming their peers. This isn't just unfair – it's economically wasteful. Our EIS fund directly tackles this problem by creating a structured, accessible route for investors to back female founders whilst benefiting from significant tax advantages.
Recognition like this matters because it highlights progress and encourages others in the industry to follow suit. Every investment and conversation moves us closer to a more equitable UK funding landscape.
The real measure of success will come when female founders routinely access the capital they deserve and diverse investment committees become the norm. Until then, we'll keep backing exceptional female founders and proving that investing in women delivers phenomenal returns.
Interested in joining our mission? Whether you're a founder looking for investment or an investor ready to back female entrepreneurs, get in touch!