Investing Women Angels (IWA) announced it will back a series of investment rounds over the next four months that is set to raise more than £4.5 million for four female-founded companies in Scotland.

They include Cytochroma, an innovative life sciences company which IWA initially supported as part of a 2021 investment round.

Marking its 10th anniversary, IWA became Scotland’s first all-female business angel syndicate in 2014 when launched by its founder Jackie Waring.

IWA has focused on supporting women to help address the equity investment gap between female-founded companies and those run by men. Over the past decade IWA has backed 26 such businesses helping them leverage over £55 million in investment.

Among the companies the group has recently invested in are Danu Robotics, a business focused on addressing the global waste challenge; Valla, a DIY law platform which helps resolve employment issues; and cancer treatment pioneers Carcinotech.

The latest four companies being supported by IWA, which will be announced in further detail later in the year, add to the eight female-founded companies the angel group has backed in the past 18 months.

Those businesses, all supported by IWA’s sister company AccelerateHER through growth programmes, international missions, angel mentoring and connections to global investors, have now raised over £6 million collectively.

Rhona Campbell, Chair of IWA, said: “It’s very exciting for us to be marking our 10-year anniversary by announcing that we’ll be supporting a further four female-founded businesses in Scotland.

“I’ve been proud to be involved with Jackie since the inception of IWA which, along with AccelerateHER, has both pioneered and raised the bar for investment in female founders and helped connect them with other investors across the Scottish ecosystem.

“We look forward to sharing further details of these latest companies we are backing over the weeks ahead. Along with the financial support from our group’s members, these investment rounds will leverage over £4.5m to help these four female-led businesses increase their market share, internationalise and scale their companies going forward.”

Cytochroma CEO and founder Kate Cameron said: “I would not be here today without the backing of IWA. The additional support, training, networks and trade missions provided through AccelerateHER, IWA’s sister company, have been incredible in progressing our journey.  This is a phenomenal group delivering big impacts in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, especially for female-founded businesses like mine.”