Ranked by the Sunday Times as the top university in the UK and by the Financial Times as a leading entrepreneurial university in Europe, LSE produces more founders than any other UK University. The LSE Generate Women Founders Programme was the first incubation programme designed for female founders by a UK university and is now a cornerstone of the Department’s offering; educating, connecting and inspiring a global network of over 1300 LSE women founders across 19 countries, reaching over 2000 unique LSE attendees since 2020.
Research by Brad Feld and AnnaLee Saxenian emphasise that founders with strong networks are more likely to secure investment, pivot successfully, and sustain long-term growth. Entrepreneurial success is not just about having a great idea, it’s about having the right people around you to help and this is where LSE Generate’s expertise comes in. The Women Founders Programme supports early-stage founders by applying a social science lens to women’s entrepreneurship and partnering with like-minded foundations, corporations, and academics to advance gender equality and empower women through entrepreneurship.
The Programme comprises entrepreneurial education such as workshops, panel discussions and funding through Startup Competitions and accelerator programme grants, industry connections through mentoring, business clinics and 1:1 sessions with seasoned women founders. Underpinning all of this is building community; locally and globally the programme makes space for women founder circles where groups of peer founders can come together, share ideas and help each other grow & succeed.
LSE Generate’s support for women founders goes beyond programming; we elevate entrepreneurs by implementing their products (such as Simba Tech and Orbiit) in our programmes, as well as contracting female founders as Creative Directors to lead various programmes such as the Women Founders Programme itself and the Food & Beverage programmes both of which are led by LSE affiliated female founders.
