A series of major new entrepreneurship programmes for women students and researchers has been launched at Cambridge University.
The programmes, Murray Edwards Enterprising Women, are being launched by Murray Edwards College, a college for women, and are being opened up to women students and researchers and recent alumnae across the University. They will be free.
Cambridge Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Prentice said:
‘Cambridge contributes around £30 billion each year to the UK economy. We are Europe’s ‘unicorn’ capital with 24 businesses worth over one billion dollars. Over the past three decades, thanks to the power of Cambridge research, 178 spin-outs and more than 200 start-ups have emerged here.
‘I am very proud to celebrate another chapter in the Cambridge innovation story – the launch of Murray Edwards Enterprising Women – a dynamic new programme that will provide training, mentorship and guidance in entrepreneurship for women across Cambridge University and beyond
‘Overall, we do better than other universities in terms of the share of women in leadership roles in spinouts, but women are still systemically under-represented in enterprise ecosystems nationwide. They miss out on opportunities and career advancement, and the country misses out on the invaluable benefits of their research.
The Cambridge picture may be more favourable for women, but there is still a significant gender gap – and that’s where the new Murray Edwards programme fits in.’
The programmes cater for students at each stage in their journey to become female founders, from women who are interested in the concept of entrepreneurship to those who have already formed companies and are seeking mentorship, non-executive directors and funding. The initiative includes a programme to introduce alumnae of the last five years who have founded companies to venture capitalists and angel investors interested in investing in women-led companies. Last year, only 2% of venture capital funding went to women-led companies.
Dorothy Byrne, President of Murray Edwards College, said:
“Cambridge is a powerhouse of entrepreneurship – of massive importance to this region and the UK economy. This initiative we launch today is aimed at ensuring women play a full role in the University’s entrepreneurial activities.
‘We realised that women were underrepresented in enterprise schemes, start-ups and spinouts at Cambridge University. That underrepresentation reflects what is happening in entrepreneurship across the UK.
‘We decided to act. If women students at Cambridge are far less likely than men to use their innovative thinking and research to set up companies, they lose out, the University loses out and the UK economy loses out.’
The initiative is funded by AstraZeneca, Hoare Bank’s Golden Bottle Trust and senior Santander executive Rafael Noya in a personal capacity.
Laurel Powers-Freeling, Chair of Uber UK, is Chair of the initiative’s Advisory Board. It also has the backing of the UK Invest in Women’s Task Force Co-Chair Hannah Bernard OBE who has joined the Advisory Board.
Bernard point to the importance of university spinouts but also to the fact that in the UK, 75% of the leadership in spinouts are all-male, 16% are mixed and only 9% are all-female.
Bernard said: ‘In Cambridge, where the picture is marginally better, there are more women participating, with spinouts having 28% with mixed teams and 67% all male, with 4% all female but more needs to be done.
‘Initiatives like the Murray Edwards Enterprising Women are crucial to the UK. You’re tackling the challenges women face head on by providing the right structure, support and tools to enable more women to start and grow their businesses.’
The first Murray Edwards Enterprising Women programme, for women students, researchers and alumnae at the first stage in considering setting up companies, attracted 110 applicants and launches on Friday 14 March 2025. AstraZeneca and a number of other supporting companies are offering students mentorship and pro-bono non executive directors for their ventures.