Investing Women

What Investing Women does

Investing Women Angels Limited ("Investing Women" or "IWA") is a Scottish private limited company (SC462552) founded in 2013 by Jackie Waring FRSE in Edinburgh, operating the UK's first and longest-standing all-female angel investment syndicate. The syndicate backs female-founded and female-led UK-based early-stage companies, with a typical ticket of up to £250,000 in pre-seed and seed rounds and participation in larger syndicated rounds. To date it has backed approximately 25-28 companies with £2.3-2.5M of direct investment (90%+ into female-founded businesses), and has helped portfolio companies leverage over £55M in total funding across co-investments.

The business operates through three primary programmes: the core angel syndicate (with six pitch meetings per year via the Dealum platform and a 5% admin fee on successfully raised capital), the Women to Women (W2W) peer accelerator run jointly with sister company AccelerateHER, and monthly Lunch & Learn webinars that onboard "investor curious" women into the membership. Underlying technology is entirely off-the-shelf (Dealum, Mailchimp, Xero, Eventbrite, Zoom, WordPress) with no proprietary platform. The organisation is also developing the IW AccelerateHER Fund with the Scottish National Investment Bank to deploy larger tickets into Scottish female-founded companies.

Revenue derives from three streams: recurring membership subscriptions from self-certified HNWI / Sophisticated Investor angels, a 5% transaction fee on investments raised through the group, and capital returns on portfolio holdings. Headcount is 1-10, and the company is led by Chair Lucy Henderson (appointed December 2025), Founder Jackie Waring, COO Nicki Thomson-Berwick, CMO Michelle McClure, and board members Elizabeth Pirrie and Antonia Boyce. Strategic partnerships span Scottish Government, British Business Bank, Scottish National Investment Bank, Maven Capital Partners (IFS), Angel Capital Scotland, Burness Paull, and Pathways Forward.

Name

Investing Women

Legal name

Investing Women Angels Limited

Website

https://investingwomen.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Investing Women Angels is Edinburgh-based, Scotland's first all-female angel investment syndicate, backing UK female-founded early-stage companies with up to £250K tickets and supporting members through education and the Women to Women programme.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Angel Investment Syndicate

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Micro-VC & Angel Funds (FSANAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Gender Lens / Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Funds (FSANAJAM)

Keywords

• Angel investment syndicate
• Venture capital funding
• Early-stage equity investment
• Female founder funding
• Investor education programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Edinburgh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: Women can join Investing Women Angels as members. The joining process requires self-certification as a High Net Worth Individual or Sophisticated Investor. A six-month programme is available for those who do not meet initial criteria to help them self-certify as sophisticated investors through online learning modules and pitch meeting participation.
2. Admin fees on investment raised: IWA charges founders a 5% admin fee on any investment successfully raised through their group, aligned with most angel group practices.
3. Portfolio returns: Returns from investments in portfolio companies through the angel syndicate model, where angels invest their own capital and receive potential returns on investments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Investing Women operates an all-female angel investment syndicate based in Edinburgh that pools capital from female members to invest in early-stage, female-founded or female-led businesses. The organization also runs the Women to Women (W2W) programme providing mentorship and peer support to female entrepreneurs, and offers Lunch & Learn webinars to widen angel-investing knowledge.

Product overview

Investing Women Angels operates as a single, unified investment syndicate offering rather than a modular platform. The core service is the all-female angel investment syndicate itself, which backs female-founded and female-led businesses through equity investment. Supporting the syndicate are two primary programme offerings: the Women to Women (W2W) Programme, a five-week in-person accelerator in Edinburgh that connects female founders with investor-curious women in a shared learning environment; and the Lunch & Learn Webinars, monthly online sessions led by the COO that introduce angel investing to women who are 'investor curious.' The syndicate uses the Dealum platform for deal management and investment applications. A planned additional offering is the IW AccelerateHER Fund, a vehicle being developed with the Scottish National Investment Bank to provide dedicated finance for Scottish female-founded companies. AccelerateHER, while a sister company, functions as the brand identity for the broader ecosystem including the W2W programme.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AccelerateHER: Sister company focused on supporting female founders through education, investment guidance, mentoring, and networking programs. Helps innovative female entrepreneurs on their journeys to scale, investment and internationalisation.
• Women to Women (W2W) Programme

Products and services

• Investing Women Angels Syndicate Membership

Quantifiable outcome

• 25% of companies backed by female angels are female-founded, compared to industry average of 19%
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Burness PaullcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 30 October 2025Law firm Burness Paull co-signed the Pathways Pledge with IWA, committing to diversity reviews and actions to support female entrepreneurs. They also sponsor the Women to Women programme.
• FWBminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 30 October 2025FWB partnered with IWA on Pathways Pledge and event series to demystify angel investing for women.
• Cazenove CapitalminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 30 October 2025Cazenove Capital co-signed the Pathways Pledge alongside IWA, Burness Paull, and FWB.
• Pathways ForwardcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 October 2025Pathways Forward is a social enterprise founded by Scotland's chief entrepreneur Ana Stewart. IWA joined the sixth Pledge cohort committing to targeted support for female entrepreneurs through diversity audits and incentive model reviews. Pathways Forward has awarded over £6 million through the Pathways Fund and Entrepreneurial Education Pathways Fund.
• Angel Capital ScotlandcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2025Angel Capital Scotland (formerly LINC Scotland) leads Scotland's angel ecosystem development. Margaret Morton is CEO. IWA collaborates with ACS as part of the collaborative Scottish model of angel investing.
• AccelerateHERcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAccelerateHER is IWA's sister company focusing on supporting female founders. The two organizations work closely together, with AccelerateHER helping founders prepare for investment and IWA providing the actual investment. They jointly deliver the Women to Women programme.
• Maven Capital PartnersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMaven Capital Partners collaborated on a podcast discussing female angel investors and founder support. They manage the Investment Fund for Scotland and invest alongside IWA in portfolio companies like Carcinotech.
• DealumcoreTechnology or IntegrationDealum is IWA's investment platform and CRM for deal management. Used for investment applications, pitch scheduling, member communications, and storing entrepreneur data.
• Johnston CarmichaelminorGTM or Marketing PartnerJohnston Carmichael is one of the sponsors of the Women to Women programme, providing funding that makes the programme free for participants.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/investing-women
• Xx.com/investing_women
• Facebookfacebook.com/InvestingWomen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments7 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Investing Women