© Anna Moffat Photography 2026.
- Barclays, Venture Café Edinburgh, Cruinn Consulting, The Ventures Lab, join existing member Elevator for the 8th cohort of Pathways Pledge, the independent initiative where companies sign up to actions aimed at driving diversity, equal opportunity and female participation in entrepreneurship and business
- Ana Stewart: “As well as making strides in Scotland, the Pledge is now gaining increasing interest across the UK with global corporates now participating at a regional level”
- Female Founder Growth Summit 2026 takes place at RBS Gogarburn on 1st October
Pathways Forward, the not-for-profit set up by Scottish entrepreneur and investor Ana Stewart, is gaining wider recognition for its Pledge initiative where companies sign up to specific actions which are then tracked and shared across organisations aimed at driving equal opportunity for women in entrepreneurship and business.
Barclays, Venture Café Edinburgh, Cruinn Consulting, The Ventures Lab, and existing member Elevator are coming together to create the Pledge’s 8th cohort. Existing Pledge organisations include a diverse range of companies including EY, Royal Bank of Scotland, BGF, University of Strathclyde, RBC Brewin Dolphin, AccelerateHer, BTO and Ooni, as the total number of Pledge partners reaches the 50 mark.
Ana Stewart said: “As well as making strides in Scotland, the Pathways Pledge is now gaining momentum across the UK and internationally. The Pledge gives organisations across industries, large or small, young or old, the ability to commit to actions whilst learning and collaborating with others. The fact that we’re becoming a beacon outside our own borders is more than we could have wished for when we started out on this journey.”
Pledges committed to in the latest cohort include Barclays Scotland deepening its relationship-led support for female founders through new drop-in clinics, Venture Café Edinburgh hosting global virtual events for female founders in partnership with other Venture Cafés around the globe, The Ventures Lab supporting five female-led ventures to become investment-ready, while aiming to unlock up to £2 million in related investment funding over the next twelve months and Cruinn Consulting hosting at least one stereotype-challenging speaker event; bringing together professionals from non-traditional career paths.
Ana Stewart added: “We are excited to welcome our new Pledge members as we also reflect on how impactful the Pledge has been across our Pledge alumni.”
Nathalie Cutting, Relationship Director at Barclays UK, said: “Barclays is proud to be part of the Pathways Forward cohort, supporting the next generation of female entrepreneurs across Scotland. Through this initiative, we’re committed to helping remove barriers to growth and ensuring more women have access to the networks, capital and confidence needed to scale their businesses.“
Cruinn Consulting also spoke on why they joined this initiative: “We have joined the Pathways Forward Pledge because we know that real change in female entrepreneurship starts early, by inspiring and equipping younger generations of women before the barriers have a chance to take hold. Through the Pledge, we want to contribute meaningful, measurable actions that help shift the ecosystem for the women coming up behind us.”
The date has also been announced for the third annual Female Founder Growth Summit, which will take place in Edinburgh on Thursday 1st October. Pathways Forward is partnering with Superscalers, The ScaleUp Institute and Buy Women Built to bring the UK’s high-growth female entrepreneurs together to connect, learn and accelerate business growth.
To register your interest in attending Female Founder Growth Summit 2026, please visit: https://luma.com/9m41eij9
