Starling & Small Business Britain Partner to Aid Womenpreneurs

• Starling has partnered with Small Business Britain to support women who are entrepreneurs in the UK
• The purpose of this campaign is to inspire and empower women to launch and develop their own enterprises

Starling has partnered with Small Business Britain, who is considered the leading champion for small businesses in the UK, with the intention of empowering women in the UK to build their own companies.

Launching in early 2026, the initiative will offer a free training course called “Female Founder Fundamentals: the definitive guide to starting and growing your business”.

This will cover online master classes as well as peer learning for confidence, business growth, financial skills, mental resilience, financial wellbeing, and community connection. This comes after research revealed that 60 percent of female business founders find it difficult to disconnect from work.

This partnership was launched through a networking event that took place at Emirates Stadium in November as part of Starling’s partnership with Arsenal and before their WSL game against Chelsea; where over 150 women entrepreneurs were able to celebrate entrepreneurial achievements and network.

"There's something really special about the energy when women get together to celebrate success and support each other, whether that's in business or sport," said Michelle Ovens CBE, CEO and founder of Small Business Britain.

“This event with Starling was a great way to kick off our partnership and shine a light on the confidence, community, and ambition which is driving female founders forward. Now we're building on that momentum with a new training program to support more women to start and grow a business”.

Delivered by experienced female founders themselves, the master classes will be led by experts. Accessing Finance & Investment, by finance expert Faye Watts, will outline funding options and how to use these for sustainable growth.

Web design expert Cheryl Laidlaw presents AI for Productivity-a session illustrating exactly how AI can help streamline operations and support business expansion.

The partnership reflects recognition of the role female founder’s play in the UK's 5.6 million small businesses. This initiative aims at strengthening their economic impact by way of building skills, training, and thereby equipping them with resources that would ensure growth.

Small Business Britain aids all small businesses, no matter the sector or location, through its campaigns, networks, training,

The Emirates Stadium event saw participants show great enthusiasm for the initiative. WorkSpa CEO, Grace Graham, was quoted saying, “It was amazing to meet so many female founders. Programs such as this collaboration with Starling are very important and offer the training and tools needed for the women to take and lead their business.”

A research carried out by the UK government reveals that the number of SME employers led by women stands at 14 percent in 2024, a trend which has been falling in the past few years.

Currently, women make up 30 percent of solopreneurs, which indicates the immense potential in the sector for the growth of businesses run by women. It is projected that if women were to grow their businesses at the same pace as men's, the effect on the UK economy could be a boost of as much as £250 billion.

“The partnership will help drive greater support for female founders, especially at the early-stage startup level. This is part of the overall ambition at Small Business Britain to see the percentage of female-led SMEs increase to a target of 30 percent by 2030.”