5 Years of The Fight for Fairer Funding

The 25th of November doesn’t just mark our Annual Conference but also 5 years of The Fight For Fairer Funding. Founded in 2019, Funding Focus has championed the cause of levelling the playing field for both women and under-represented minorities. Our mission is beyond simply raising awareness and is dedicated to creating pathways and support systems to overcome these barriers and thrive.?

Across our social media and marketing efforts, we are committed to covering all things female entrepreneurship: from highlighting and sharing women’s stories, achievements, successes, to the stats and facts of the issue, and our own top tips and advice on how to fight back!

Our ‘Fight for Fairer Funding’ newsletter was launched in May 2022 and features all the latest in our fight for equality in investment. We are proud to share that it is now on its 50th issue and continues to champion equality in investment.??

Then there was Xplore, our course on fundraising which was developed as THE essential fundraising starter programme that covers the six key elements of the fundraising journey; Your Head, Your Business, Finance & Fundraising, Funding Options, Investor Types and Pitching. Running this course has helped us work on our mission to educate and bring awareness.?

What we are most proud of is our Funding Focus Conferences, where voices are heard, stories are shared and networks are built. From being hosted at The London Stock Exchange to online events over Zoom during the pandemic, we have strived in addressing gender disparity, celebrating female founders and providing a voice for all.?

Our very first conference was hosted at The London Stock Exchange (LSEG), in 2019. The half-day event featured engaging speakers, insightful investor panel discussions and plenty of networking opportunities. With a full hall, we came together to address the gender disparity, champion female founders, raise awareness on this crucial issue and highlighted the significance and impact of supporting diversity in the funding landscape.?

Then in 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic happened and as a result, our Conference transitioned to an online event. We ran multiple conferences over 2020 and 2021 and as effective and successful as they were, we were all really eager to resume in-person conferences.?

In 2022, we returned to the LSEG for our second in-person and first hybrid conference and built on the success of our event in 2019. This Conference was even bigger and better than before. We had a captivating keynote address, an amazing line-up of speakers, an engaging investor panel, a casual fireside chat and finally networking that closed out the day. Attendees had the opportunity to grab copies of "Add then Multiply" and the latest release, "Funded Female Founders”. And that wasn’t all. We sweetened the experience with our own branded chocolates and a variety of beverages. It was good to be back and meeting people in-person!

In 2023, we took a break to focus on the Funding Focus Investment Trust (FFIT) – a new type of investment fund with a specific mandate to invest in companies with at least one female founder. It wasn’t an easy choice to make given the success of the 2022 conference but we wanted to build on, not take away, from every conference and FFIT took priority. The Trust has not progressed to the level we would have hoped at this point, but it’s still a matter of WHEN and not IF we will launch the Funding Focus Investment Trust.

That leads us to the now, 2024. We’re back on the 5th Anniversary of Funding Focus to bring the biggest and best conference that we’ve ever run.?

• We’re keeping it FREE!
• We’re packing as much as we can into ONLY 6 HOURS.?
• We’re going to equip everyone who joins us on the day with all the tools, knowledge and confidence to pursue their own unique fundraising journeys.

Our female and underrepresented entrepreneur focused conferences have been pivotal in not only bringing visibility to the issue that female and minority entrepreneurs face in securing funding, but more importantly gives them the opportunity to learn directly from successful female founders, venture capitalists and business strategists who have first-hand experience in overcoming the challenges of fundraising in a male-dominated space.

Join us for our upcoming conference as we celebrate and continue to strive to make a collective impact together. Reserve your seat by RSVP’ing here .

As always, looking forward to reading your thoughts and questions in the comments.?

With love and gratitude,?

David Horne & The Funding Focus Team