Business angels are private individuals who invest time and money in early stage business ventures in exchange for equity in that business. They are recognised as being vital to supporting an entrepreneurial economy as they bring not only finance, but also valuable skills and networks of contacts to a venture.

It has been found that male investors tend to invest in male business founders and female investors have expressed a preference to invest in female founders. The UK Business Angel Association, however, reports that only 14% of business angels in the UK are female. Female founders can thus be missing out on early stage funding and female investors are missing the opportunity to be involved in the early stage investment community.

My research aim is to explore the opportunities and barriers to female business angel investors and also their motivation to invest. I intend to conduct three comparative case studies in Wales, London and Scotland.