CREATING CHANGE
AND REALISING POTENTIAL

UNLOCKING £17BN IN ECONOMIC GROWTH

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Scotland has achieved a significant milestone – more women are starting businesses than men, with women comprising 54% of all new start-ups. This represents marked progress, yet we are failing to realise the economic impact of this achievement. The attrition rate amongst women-led start-ups is alarming. Systemic failures are now resulting in 70% of these promising enterprises vanishing in the post-start-up phase. Women-led employer businesses are on a declining trend, down from a high of 23% in 2021 to just 16% today.

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WE CALL FOR:
1. Immediate activation of the £50m Women’s Business Centre commitment with a clear delivery timeline.

2. Emergency funding to remediate the Covid-19 inequalities and help address the post start-up attrition crisis for women-led businesses.

3. Mandatory equality impact assessments and training on all existing and future business support programmes.

4. Cross-party commitment to sustained, multiyear funding beyond electoral cycles.