LONDON, UK: Funding Focus Investment Trust plc, (FFIT) the investment trust for female and under-represented entrepreneurs, is in process of seeking approval of a prospectus from the FCA with a view to launching an offer for subscription, a bourse filing noted.

It has filed an Early Notification of Listing with the London Stock Exchange. FFIT will offer investors access to businesses it has identified as high growth businesses across the UK and Europe, led by entrepreneurs who identify as female and/or non-white ethnicity.

Funding Focus Investment Trust plc, (FFIT) seeks to address the chronic under-investment in female and under-represented entrepreneurs of all genders in the UK and Europe, and to rectify the strong bias in the venture capital industry towards all male founding teams.

For example, across the UK and Europe, despite the record-breaking sums invested, the share of funding to mixed gender teams fell from 14.6% in 2020 to 13.6% in 2021, and the share to all-female teams collapsed from 2.4% to just 1.0% of the total.

The Board has extensive investment, entrepreneurial and professional expertise and is chaired by Shalini Khemka, CBE, Founder & CEO of E2E and Business Advisory Board Member to The Mayor of London.

She was a former Investment Director at Lloyds Development Capital and Dealmaker for the Government focused on attracting fast growth tech start-ups to the UK. The other Non-Executive Directors are: Julie Pomeroy (Chartered Accountant and experienced listed company Finance Director), Fran Boorman (award-winning business leader and author), Sophie Milliken (multi-award winning entrepreneur), Mehmuda Mian (former solicitor in commercial and professional indemnity litigation).

The Executive Directors and Founders of FFIT are David B Horne (CEO) and John P de Blocq van Kuffeler (CIO).

Shalini Khemka CBE, Chair of Funding Focus Investment Trust said: “Having worked directly in private equity for a number of years and more recently indirectly with venture capital firms across the UK, it concerns me greatly that there is significant under-representation of both women and ethnic minorities in leadership positions and on investment committees. Our purpose is to address these unfair challenges by giving access to capital typically required by these groups as they scale their businesses. I am pleased to be working alongside David, John and four very experienced women, all of whom will be sitting on FFIT’s investment committee.”

David B Horne, CEO & Founder of Funding Focus Investment Trust said: “We believe that many businesses do not lack vision or potential, they just lack access to appropriate capital and governance to help them realise their growth potential. Our role is to identify and support these visionary and innovative entrepreneurs and their companies through equity funding to fully realise their potential.”