Aviva plc invests $10 million in Female Innovators Lab Fund

26 Sep 2022

Two people looking at paperwork in an office

Aviva, the UK’s leading insurer, today announces an investment of $10 million into the Anthemis Female Innovators Lab Fund. The fund was founded in September 2019 and backs female entrepreneurs in the fintech industry across the UK, Europe, Canada and the US. Aviva’s investment will specifically support UK based fintech firms which are founded by women. Currently only 4% of UK fintechs are led by women.

Female entrepeneurs currently lead just 4% of UK tech startups and this needs to change. The Female Innovators Fund is one way we can support this untapped talent.

Ben Luckett, Chief Innovation Officer at Aviva

Aviva will be a strategic partner to the Fund, which is the largest female focused fintech fund and is anchored and co-founded by Barclays. The Fund deploys capital directly into innovative female led companies within the finance industry and provides female entrepeneurs with access to financial and intellectual resources through the Fund’s extensive network of advisors and experts.

Ben Luckett, Chief Innovation Officer at Aviva, said: “Female entrepreneurs currently lead just 4% of UK tech startups and this needs to change. The Female Innovators Fund is one way we can support this untapped talent. Working with the Fund means more than just a financial contribution, we will have opportunities to partner with, learn from and invest directly in start-ups where they may benefit Aviva and our customers. We are very excited to work alongside Anthemis and Barclays to help reduce gender inequality in financial services.”

Aviva plays a leading role supporting female leadership and gender equality within the financial services sector. Amanda Blanc, Aviva’s Group CEO, is the Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter Champion - spearheading efforts to boost gender diversity across UK Financial Services. Aviva also supports the UK Government’s Investing in Women Code which advances female entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom by improving access to tools, resources and finance from the financial services sector.

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Sarah Swailes

Head of Financial Communications

Notes to editors:

  • We are the UK's leading diversified insurer and we operate in the UK, Ireland and Canada. We also have international investments in India and China.
  • We help our 19.2 million (as at 31 December 2023) customers make the most out of life, plan for the future, and have the confidence that if things go wrong we’ll be there to put it right.
  • We have been taking care of people for more than 325 years, in line with our purpose of being ‘with you today, for a better tomorrow’. In 2023, we paid £25.6 billion in claims and benefits to our customers. 
  • In 2021, we announced our ambition to become Net Zero by 2040, the first major insurance company in the world to do so. We are aiming to have Net Zero carbon emissions from Aviva’s operations and supply chain by 2030. While we are working towards our sustainability ambitions, we recognise that while we have control over Aviva’s operations and influence on our supply chain, when it comes to decarbonising the economy in which we operate and invest, Aviva is one part of a far larger global ecosystem. There are also limits to our ability to influence other organisations and governments. Nevertheless, we remain focused on the task and are committed to playing our part in the collective effort to enable the global transition. Find out more about our climate goals at www.aviva.com/climate-goals and our sustainability ambition and action at www.aviva.com/sustainability
  • Aviva is a Living Wage, Living Pension and Living Hours employer and provides market-leading benefits for our people, including flexible working, paid carers leave and equal parental leave. Find out more at https://www.aviva.com/about-us/our-people/
  • As at 31 December 2023, total Group assets under management at Aviva Group were £376 billion and our estimated Solvency II shareholder capital surplus was £8.8 billion. Our shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and we are a member of the FTSE 100 index.
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