Organisations encouraging female entrepreneurs face a cashflow crisis, according to Prowess - a network of female support groups.
A pair of new reports from the organisation conclude that the Business Link network is the only securely funded - ie financed by the taxpayer - form of business support in the UK, yet 80 per cent of its customers are men.
Prowess says its members, which include several Business Links, provide targeted women's services that are funded through a "complex range of short-term sources".
That's despite the oversight of the Strategic Framework for Women's Enterprise, an organisation launched last year to encourage more women into business.
Prowess is calling for a "coherent funding strategy" from government and the Regional Development Agencies, who from 2005 will gain most of the responsibility to deliver the Framework.
It is also calling for Business Link to incorporate targeted financial support for women into its core functions.
According to the network's estimates, if women set up businesses at the same rate as men, there would be 100,000 extra businesses every year. It adds that the gap between male and female entrepreneurship in the UK is one of the widest in the industrialised world.
Prowess director Erika Watson said: "The Strategic Framework for Women's Enterprise has fuelled an enthusiastic and committed sector.
"Unfortunately its guidelines have not been voluntarily adopted by the main funders of business support.
"PROWESS members give assistance to over 100,000 women every year, directly resulting in 10,000 new businesses which contribute £1.5 billion to the economy. With effective resources we could do so much more".
Prowess says Business Links that have joined its network have increased their share of female clients by a third.
