In 2009, Britain's venture capital market began producing some of the country's biggest technology companies, creating new billion-pound businesses and attracting billions of pounds in private investment. But for Black founders, very little of that capital made it through.
Over the past ten years, just 38 Black founders received venture capital investment in the UK. Together, they accounted for only 0.24% of the total VC funding invested between 2009 and 2019, according to research by Extend Ventures. For Black women, the figure was even smaller: 0.02%.
The numbers were eventually published, discussed and repeated across Britain's technology and investment industries. Then came 2020, a year that brought racial inequality sharply into the spotlight. Venture firms, banks, technology companies and investors announced new initiatives aimed at widening access to capital for Black entrepreneurs.
By 2021, Black founders received 1.13% of UK venture capital investment, according to Extend Ventures data. The share fell to 1.02% in 2022 and 0.95% in 2023 as the wider venture market contracted.
A new generation of Black-led funds, founder networks and investment programs began emerging across the UK. More than a decade after the period that produced the 0.24% figure, the story of Black founder funding in Britain is no longer a story of a number sitting still.
