Nationwide has been named the sole banking partner for the women-led Rise to Scale programme, a growth initiative aimed at helping female founders take their businesses from established to scaling. If you run a women-led business in the UK and you have been looking for structured support to grow rather than just start, this is the headline: a major mutual is putting its name and its resources behind a programme built specifically for founders like you.
The short version for busy owners is this. Rise to Scale exists to help women-led companies push through the growth ceiling that so many hit once the early years are behind them. Nationwide stepping in as the single banking partner means the programme now has one clear financial backer rather than a patchwork of sponsors, which usually translates into steadier funding, clearer support and a more joined-up experience for the founders taking part. Below we explain what the programme is, why the banking partnership matters, and what practical steps a women-led SME can take to benefit, whether you get onto the programme or not.
What is the Rise to Scale programme?
Rise to Scale is a growth programme for women-led businesses that have moved past the fragile startup phase and want to expand. The “scale” in the name is the important word. Plenty of support schemes focus on getting a business off the ground: writing a plan, registering with Companies House, opening a business bank account and finding first customers. Far fewer help founders with the messier middle stage, where you are hiring, borrowing, chasing bigger contracts and trying not to run out of cash while you grow.
That gap matters because women-led firms have historically found it harder to access growth finance and networks, a problem that schemes like Innovate UK’s grants for 100 women founders aim to close. The Rose Review, commissioned by the UK government and led by NatWest’s Alison Rose, put numbers to the problem some years ago and prompted a wave of programmes designed to close it, such as Innovate UK’s grant-backed support for women founders. Rise to Scale sits in that tradition: it is aimed at the founders who have proven their model and now need capital, contacts and confidence to go further.
Programmes of this kind typically combine mentoring, peer networks, workshops and access to finance conversations. If you have ever felt that the advice you can find online stops exactly at the point your business gets interesting, a scale-focused programme is designed to pick up there.
Why does a sole banking partner matter?
When a growth programme has one committed banking partner rather than several loosely attached sponsors, founders usually feel the difference in three ways.
- Consistency. A single partner means one point of contact, one set of expectations and less risk of the programme stalling if a sponsor drops out.
- Access to real banking expertise. Growth throws up practical money questions: business lending, cash flow management, payments and treasury. Having a bank inside the room means those questions can be answered by people who deal with them daily.
- A relationship that can outlast the programme. The point of scaling is what happens next. A banking partner that already knows your business is better placed to support the next funding round or facility.
Nationwide is a building society, owned by its members rather than shareholders, and is best known in the UK for personal current accounts, savings and mortgages. Its involvement as the sole banking partner signals a broader push to support business growth and, specifically, to back female founders who have been underserved by traditional growth finance. You can read the announcement on Nationwide’s website and via the coverage on FF News.
What this means for a women-led small business
Not every woman-led SME will be on the Rise to Scale programme, and that is fine. The useful takeaway is broader: banks and building societies are competing to support founders who are ready to grow, and that competition works in your favour. Whether or not you apply, you should be shopping around for a banking relationship that fits your growth stage rather than sticking with whatever account you opened on day one.
If you are at the scaling stage, the questions that matter are practical. Can you get an overdraft or a term loan when a big order lands? Are your card payment fees eating into margin as volumes rise? Is your cash flow forecast good enough to survive a lumpy quarter? A programme like Rise to Scale is designed to put those questions in front of people who can help you answer them, but you can start asking them today regardless.
Where else women-led businesses can find growth support
Rise to Scale is one option among several. Here is how it sits alongside other well-known UK routes for women founders and scaling SMEs. Details and eligibility change, so treat this as a starting point for your own shortlist rather than a final answer.
| Programme or provider | What it is known for | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Rise to Scale (Nationwide as banking partner) | Growth programme aimed specifically at women-led businesses ready to scale | Established female founders past the startup phase |
| NatWest Back Her Business and Accelerator | Crowdfunding support and free physical accelerator hubs, born out of the Rose Review | Founders at various stages wanting structured mentoring and networks |
| British Business Bank | Government-owned bank that improves access to finance, including through the Start Up Loans scheme and regional funds | Businesses seeking finance and understanding funding options |
| Barclays Eagle Labs | Ecosystem of workspaces, mentoring and scale-up programmes across the UK | Tech-led and high-growth firms wanting community and connections |
| Lloyds Bank Business support | Free digital skills and business guidance alongside banking services | Smaller firms building capability while banking day to day |
We have written before about how the British Business Bank channels funding into UK smaller businesses, which is a useful reminder that the government-backed finance landscape sits behind many of these private programmes.
Choosing a business bank account that supports growth
If the news has you rethinking your banking, it is worth being systematic. The right account for a solo founder is rarely the right one for a business with staff, stock and a growing loan book. The main names UK SMEs shortlist include the high street players Nationwide, NatWest, Barclays, Lloyds, HSBC and Santander, alongside the app-based challengers Starling, Monzo, Tide and Revolut. Each has trade-offs on monthly fees, cash handling, lending and integrations with accounting software such as Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent and Sage.
Our guide to the best business bank accounts for UK small businesses, compared and costed, walks through the real monthly costs and features so you can match an account to your stage rather than a marketing promise. As your turnover climbs, keep half an eye on the VAT registration threshold and which scheme suits you, because scaling businesses cross that line sooner than they expect.
A realistic example
Imagine a founder running a women’s activewear brand turning over around £400,000 a year, mostly online. She has proven demand, a small team of three and a supplier in Portugal. Her problem is not survival, it is scale: she needs stock finance to place bigger orders, better terms on card processing as volumes climb, and someone to sanity-check her growth plan before she borrows.
A programme like Rise to Scale would give her structured mentoring and a route into finance conversations with a committed banking partner. Even without a place on it, the same founder can act now: refresh her thirteen-week cash flow forecast, compare business accounts and lending options across the providers above, review her payment fees, and get her books tidy so any lender sees a clean, credible picture. Growth finance follows good financial housekeeping, not the other way round.
Frequently asked questions
Who is eligible for the Rise to Scale programme?
The programme is aimed at women-led businesses that are past the early startup stage and ready to grow. Exact eligibility criteria, cohort sizes and application windows are set by the programme organisers, so check the official details before applying rather than relying on general descriptions.
Does becoming a banking partner mean I have to bank with Nationwide?
No. A banking partnership means Nationwide is backing and supporting the programme. Taking part does not oblige you to switch your accounts, though having a banking partner in the room is precisely what makes finance conversations easier if you choose to pursue them.
Is there any cost to joining?
Many bank-backed growth programmes are free to participants because the sponsoring institution funds them. We do not have confirmed pricing for this specific programme, so treat that as a question to ask the organisers directly rather than an assumption.
What if I am not a women-led business, or I miss the intake?
There are plenty of alternatives, from Barclays Eagle Labs and NatWest’s accelerator hubs to finance routes backed by the British Business Bank. The broader point stands for any scaling SME: choose a banking relationship and support network that fits your growth stage, not your first day.
How do I make my business look ready for growth finance?
Keep clean, up-to-date accounts, maintain a rolling cash flow forecast, know your margins, and be able to explain what the money is for and how it gets repaid. Lenders and programmes back founders who understand their own numbers.
What to do next
- Check the official programme details. Read the announcement on Nationwide’s website and confirm eligibility and application dates before you plan around them.
- Get your finances scale-ready. Tidy your bookkeeping and build a thirteen-week cash flow forecast so any lender or programme sees a credible business.
- Review your banking. Compare your current account and payment fees against the providers a growing business would actually shortlist, and switch if the fit is poor.
- Line up a shortlist of support. Whether or not Rise to Scale suits you, note two or three alternative programmes or finance routes so you always have a next move.
