Girls Angels Unite to Put money into Girls in Wales for Wales

Greater than 30 of Wales’ most profitable feminine entrepreneurs and enterprise leaders have united to type Girls Angels of Wales (WAW), a brand new enterprise angel funding syndicate for ladies led by lead investor Jill Jones.

It comes as the most recent report by the UK Enterprise Angels Affiliation (UKBAA) means that regardless of feminine angel buyers having helped drive greater than £2bn of funding in corporations throughout the UK previously decade, ladies stay a minority in angel funding. This scarcity of ladies angels has a direct affect as a result of information exhibits that girls are more likely to spend money on female-founded corporations.

Facilitated by the Growth Financial institution of Wales and Angels Make investments Wales, WAW has been established to assist assist ladies within the early-stage funding neighborhood in Wales. As a syndicate, all offers can have entry to the Wales Angel Co-investment Fund.

Jill Jones, lead investor; Carol Corridor, funding supervisor with Angels Make investments Wales

As lead investor, Jill Jones has a background in optometry and property. She is now an ESRC funded PhD scholar at Cardiff College Enterprise Faculty, an skilled enterprise angel investor and passionate supporter of ladies in entrepreneurship. She mentioned:

“Girls angels have a important position to play in supporting feminine entrepreneurship. WAW is a women-led enterprise angel funding syndicate, working in shut partnership with the Growth Financial institution of Wales and the broader enterprise angel neighborhood in Wales and past. It’s a pleasant and supportive community which welcomes new and aspiring feminine investor members throughout Wales who’re dedicated to supporting the Welsh economic system and the creation of Welsh jobs.

“By encouraging extra ladies to grow to be angel buyers, we give them the chance to assist the companies that matter to them and to create new sources of capital for modern companies. We provide a supportive method to ladies as buyers and to ladies as  founders who usually get missed and underfunded.

“Importantly, this isn’t a networking discussion board. We need to take pleasure in utilizing our collective expertise, abilities and useful resource  to make a distinction to the environment, our society and our economic system by inspiring and investing in female-led companies.  After all, angel investing does include some dangers however there are some nice tax incentives that make it a gorgeous proposition.”

Jenny Tooth OBE, Government Chair of the UK Enterprise Angels Affiliation and Co-Chair of the Girls Angel Funding Activity Drive mentioned:

“Angel funding is a vital factor of fairness finance for entrepreneurs in the beginning of their enterprise development journey, brining not solely important funding, but additionally enterprise expertise, recommendation, assist and connections. Nevertheless, the proportion of ladies angel buyers is low and this limits the pool of fairness capital accessible to assist entrepreneurial development.

“Our analysis and expertise has proven that rising the variety of ladies angels will immediately improve the extent of funding in feminine entrepreneurs.  To handle this, we’ve launched the Girls backing Girls Marketing campaign throughout the UK areas and Nations. We want syndicates like WAW to share the advantages of angel investing and assist empower extra ladies to deliver their finance and expertise to proactively again feminine founders.”

Carol Corridor is Funding Supervisor for Angels Make investments Wales. She mentioned:

“We have to encourage extra ladies to speculate so constructing the angel ecosystem in Wales is a precedence for us.

“WAW is a syndicate of exceptionally proficient and profitable ladies enterprise angels who’re formidable, agile and accessible. We all know that angel funding works greatest when buyers work collectively in syndicates to pool abilities, share information and stability threat. It generates extra firepower, notably as we will then use our fairness co-investment fund to leverage syndicated offers.”

Members of WAW embrace: 

• Ellen Donovan, an skilled non-executive director. She is a board member of the Welsh Authorities and a former board government director of a FTSE 250 firm.
• Kate Methuen-Ley, an skilled non-executive director, committee member and government director. She spent 5 years constructing a JV with well-known retailer in Wales & Bristol to 120 group members and +£5m annual turnover. She exited in 2018.
• Sian Lloyd, freelance presenter and broadcaster who has spent the final 25 years presenting information, present affairs and factual programmes each in Wales and throughout the UK together with work for unbiased media corporations.
• Helen Molyneux, profitable enterprise lady who set-up and established NewLaw Authorized earlier than promoting to a PLC. She is a well-regarded non-executive director, a founding father of the Monumental Welsh Girl mission and a trustee of the Institute of Welsh Affairs.
• Jackie Royall, chair, non-executive director, enterprise mentor and investor.  Her profession started in finance and progressed to CEO and vp in manufacturing. She has run her personal enterprise scaling consultancy and was a turnaround practitioner for 16 years.

The £8 million Wales Angel Co-investment Fund offers Welsh companies with a key supply of other finance by means of the encouragement of extra energetic angel funding. The 5 yr fund helps the creation of angel syndicates and networks throughout Wales by offering loans and fairness as much as £250,000 to buyers in search of co-investment.

Mae mwy na 30 o fentergarwyr benywaidd mwyaf llwyddiannus Cymru ac arweinwyr busnes wedi uno i ffurfio Angylion Cymru sy’n Ferched (ACM), syndicet buddsoddi angylion busnes newydd i fenywod o dan arweiniad y prif fuddsoddwr Jill Jones.

Awgryma’r adroddiad diweddaraf gan Gymdeithas Angylion Busnes y DU (UKBAA), er gwaethaf y ffaith bod buddsoddwyr sy’n angylion benywaidd wedi helpu i ysgogi mwy na £2bn o fuddsoddiad mewn cwmnïau ledled y DU yn y degawd diwethaf, mae merched yn parhau i fod ymhlith y lleiafrif o ran buddsoddiadau angylion. Mae’r prinder hwn o angylion benywaidd yn cael effaith uniongyrchol oherwydd mae information’n dangos bod merched yn llawer mwy tebygol o fuddsoddi mewn cwmnïau sydd wedi’u sefydlu gan ferched.

Wedi’i hwyluso gan Fanc Datblygu Cymru ac Angylion Buddsoddi Cymru, mae ACM wedi’i sefydlu i helpu i gefnogi merched yn y gymuned fuddsoddi cyfnod cynnar yng Nghymru. Fel syndicet, bydd gan bob bargen fynediad at Gronfa Cyd-fuddsoddi Angylion Cymru.

Fel buddsoddwr arweiniol, mae gan Jill Jones gefndir mewn optometreg ac eiddo. Mae hello bellach yn fyfyrwraig PhD a ariennir gan yr ESRC yn Ysgol Busnes Prifysgol Caerdydd, yn fuddsoddwr angel busnes profiadol ac yn gefnogwr brwd i ferched mewn mentergarwch. Meddai:

“Mae gan ferched sy’n angylion rôl holl bwysig i’w chwarae wrth gefnogi mentergarwch benywaidd. Syndicet buddsoddi angylion busnes a arweinir gan ferched yw AMC, sy’n gweithio mewn partneriaeth agos â Banc Datblygu Cymru a’r gymuned angylion busnes ehangach yng Nghymru a thu hwnt. Mae’n rhwydwaith cyfeillgar a chefnogol sy’n croesawu aelodau newydd a darpar fuddsoddwyr benywaidd ledled Cymru sydd wedi ymrwymo i gefnogi economi Cymru a chreu swyddi Cymreig.

“Drwy annog mwy o ferched i ddod yn fuddsoddwyr angel, rydyn ni’n rhoi’r cyfle iddyn nhw gefnogi’r busnesau sydd o bwys iddyn nhw ac i greu ffynonellau cyfalaf newydd ar gyfer busnesau arloesol. Rydym yn cynnig agwedd gefnogol at fenywod fel buddsoddwyr ac at fenywod fel sylfaenwyr sy’n aml yn cael eu hanwybyddu a’u tanariannu.

“Yn bwysig, nid fforwm rhwydweithio yw hwn. Rydym am fwynhau defnyddio ein profiad, ein sgiliau a’n hadnoddau ar y cyd i wneud gwahaniaeth i’n hamgylchedd, ein cymdeithas a’n heconomi drwy ysbrydoli a buddsoddi mewn busnesau a arweinir gan ferched. Wrth gwrs, mae yna rai risgiau ynghlwm i fuddsoddiadau angylion ond mae rhai cymhellion treth gwych sy’n ei wneud yn gynnig deniadol.”

Dywedodd Jenny Tooth OBE, Cadeirydd Gweithredol Cymdeithas Angylion Busnes y DU a Chyd-Gadeirydd y Tasglu Buddsoddi Angylion i Ferched:

“Mae buddsoddiad angel yn elfen bwysig o gyllid ecwiti i fentergarwyr ar ddechrau eu taith twf busnes, gan ddod nid yn unig yn hanfodol. cyllid, ond hefyd profiad busnes, cyngor, cymorth a chysylltiadau. Fodd bynnag, mae cyfran y buddsoddwyr angylion benywaidd yn isel ac mae hyn yn cyfyngu ar y gronfa o gyfalaf ecwiti sydd ar gael i gefnogi twf mentergarol.

“Mae ein hymchwil a’n profiad wedi dangos y bydd cynyddu nifer yr angylion benywaidd yn cynyddu lefel y buddsoddiad mewn mentergarwch benywaidd yn uniongyrchol. I fynd i’r afael â hyn, rydym wedi lansio’r Ymgyrch Merched yn Cefnogi Menywod ar attracts rhanbarthau a Gwledydd y DU. Mae arnom angen syndicetiau fel AMC i rannu buddion buddsoddiadau angylion a helpu i rymuso mwy o ferched i ddod â’u cyllid a’u profiad i gefnogi sylfaenwyr benywaidd yn rhagweithiol.”

Carol Corridor yw Rheolwr Buddsoddi Angylion Buddsoddi Cymru. Meddai:

“Mae angen i ni annog mwy o fenywod i fuddsoddi felly mae adeiladu’r ecosystem angylion yng Nghymru yn flaenoriaeth i ni.

“Mae AMC yn syndicet o angylion busnes benywaidd hynod dalentog a llwyddiannus sy’n uchelgeisiol, yn ystwyth ac yn hygyrch. Gwyddom fod buddsoddiadau angylion yn gweithio orau pan fydd buddsoddwyr yn cydweithio mewn syndicetiau i gronni sgiliau, rhannu gwybodaeth a chydbwyso risg. Mae’n cynhyrchu mwy o rym dylanwadol, yn enwedig am ein bod wedyn yn gallu defnyddio ein cronfa cyd-fuddsoddi ecwiti i drosoli bargeinion syndicet.”

Mae aelodau AMC yn cynnwys:

• Ellen Donovan, cyfarwyddwr anweithredol profiadol. Mae’n aelod o fwrdd Llywodraeth Cymru ac yn gyn-gyfarwyddwr gweithredol bwrdd cwmni FTSE 250.
• Kate Methuen-Ley, cyfarwyddwr anweithredol profiadol, aelod pwyllgor a chyfarwyddwr gweithredol. Treuliodd bum mlynedd yn adeiladu JV gyda manwerthwr adnabyddus yng Nghymru a Bryste i dîm o 120 o aelodau â throsiant blynyddol o +£5m. Fe ymadawodd yn 2018.
• Sian Lloyd, cyflwynydd a darlledydd llawrydd sydd wedi treulio’r 25 mlynedd diwethaf yn cyflwyno rhaglenni newyddion, materion cyfoes a ffeithiol yng Nghymru a ledled y DU ynghyd â gwaith i gwmnïau cyfryngau annibynnol.
• Helen Molyneux, gwraig fusnes lwyddiannus a sefydlodd NewLaw Authorized cyn gwerthu i CCC. Mae hello’n gyfarwyddwr anweithredol uchel ei pharch, yn un o sylfaenwyr y prosiect Monumental Welsh Girl ac yn ymddiriedolwr ar y Sefydliad Materion Cymreig.
• Jackie Royall, cadeirydd, cyfarwyddwr anweithredol, mentor busnes a buddsoddwr. Dechreuodd ei gyrfa ym myd cyllid ac aeth ymlaen i fod yn Brif Weithredwr ac is-lywydd gweithgynhyrchu. Mae hello wedi rhedeg ei hymgynghoriad graddio busnes ei hun a bu’n ymarferydd trawsnewid am 16 mlynedd.

Mae Cronfa Cyd-fuddsoddi Angylion Cymru, sy’n werth £8 miliwn, yn rhoi ffynhonnell allweddol o gyllid amgen i fusnesau Cymru drwy annog angylion i fuddsoddi’n fwy gweithredol. Mae’r gronfa bum mlynedd yn cefnogi creu syndicetiau a rhwydweithiau angylion ledled Cymru drwy ddarparu benthyciadau ac ecwiti hyd at £250,000 i fuddsoddwyr sy’n chwilio am gyd-fuddsoddiad.