Morgan Stanley expands diversity-focused investments

NEW YORK. Morgan Stanley is preparing to invest £1 million in five start-ups led by women or ethnic minorities in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, expanding a programme that’s run for the past four years in the US.

The Wall Street bank aims to help groups that often struggle to find seed capital. According to Morgan Stanley, less than 3 per cent of venture capital invested in the UK over the past decade went to teams led entirely by women and less than 2 per cent to ethnic minority founders.

Total funding for European start-ups and scale-ups rose to €12 billion last year, according to trade body Invest Europe.