Kicking Off International Women Entrepreneurs' Month!
Global Invest Her
Let's get 1M women entrepreneurs funded by 2030. Community is Capital. Change the Funding Game with Us. Fund WE.
Issue # 370?- 28th?February?2023
This week marks the end of Black History Month and we have been proud to feature so many incredible Black entrepreneurs from our?InvestHer Founder Directory.?If you missed any of our InvestHer Founder Spotlight features, take a look at the?InvestHer Blog?where we have gathered them all.?
Tomorrow is also?the?1st of March?which signals the start of our month-long celebration of Women Entrepreneurs!?We want to celebrate women entrepreneurs in their fight for equal access to funding.?Join us as we?#EmbraceEquity!
We also have another amazing treat for you this week as we will be hosting an Interactive Webinar on Thursday, 2nd of March?at 12pm EST / 6:00 PM CET, read more below and?SIGN UP HERE!
In other news, Women-Led Web3 Startups Raise 4x Less Funding than those with Male Founders, things are heating up in the Western Balkans as Top Women from the VC and Startup Ecosystem are blazing a trail and we learn more about The European Founders Who’ve Set up Funds.
Finally, we take Stock of Black Venture Capital Dollars and?Sure Valley Ventures’ New Fund.
? InvestHer Founder Directory Spotlight
Val Emanuel?describes herself as a Climate Activist, Mother, Founder and she brings it all together as the CEO of?Rif CARE, a carbon neutral feminine hygiene brand using Hemp fiber in their period products. Val and her team are solving problems regarding safety in women's products as well as environmental degradation from the use of synthetic and energy/ water-intensive materials.
Looking for Funding as a woman or diverse entrepreneur just got a lot easier!
Founders?- are you tired of scrolling endless lists on the internet, trying to figure out which potential investors and funders to target?
Investors?-?you have the dealflow - and is it the right, targeted dealflow you really need??
Wouldn't you all like to save time and energy, to find the right investors more easily?
Or see how you compare on founder diversity vs your competitors? (investors)
Join us live on this interactive webinar, where we'll take you inside the Funder Directory, so you can see for yourself!?or?If you want to already check it out, go here!??
Women Founder?News
The uphill battle for Black female founders wanting to raise capital continues and even in big business sectors such as reduction of energy waste, $33.28 billion in 2022 according to sources cited in the article mentioned here, funds are hard to come by. SaLisa Berrien, founder and CEO at?COI Energy?is going against the current though as her company is currently raising their Series A.
Sector specific data on the lack of funding going to women-led startups is noted in the article cited here. It goes on to reveal that only 13% of Web3 founding teams include a woman, and only 3% have teams exclusively made up of women. Is it even possible to close this gender gap while the “crypto bros” continue to reign??This article provides some helpful suggestions as to how one might go about it which becomes even more relevant when one is faced with the apparent benefits of having?women on?founding teams, such as better communication, a positive bottom-line, increased diligence in problem-solving and insight into female customers.
领英推荐
In this article we look at the European VC and startup ecosystem in the Western Balkans. Specifically, you will meet the leading ladies from Albania, North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Be inspired by them, their careers and their ventures!
Global?Funding News
According to the article cited here, there comes a time when successful founders decide to set up their own investment companies. They love running businesses and some go on to set up massive VC funds, capable of deploying hundreds of millions of dollars. Others are a little more subtle. Take a look at some of them here.
This podcast episode is a continuation of?an article referenced in this newsletter a few iterations ago where it was noted that?women-led startups?whose first round was raised exclusively from female VCs were 2x less likely to raise a second round regardless of initial funding round size, industry, geographic location or prestige of the investor. Now the discussion continues, and they are really crunching the numbers!
According to the article cited here, VC firms hit a nine-year low in the fourth quarter as macroeconomic pressure has started to affect investors across the board.?On a global scale, venture firms raised $20.6bn which was a 65% drop from the year earlier quarter and the lowest fourth quarter amount since 2013. The article continues to note that the amount was also less than half?the level raised in the preceding three months.
Investor Insights
Arlan Hamilton started?Backstage Capital?about 10 years ago with a clear mission, to specifically invest in those founders who were underestimated by venture capitalists, especially female founders, people of colour, and those who identify as LGBTQ+. The for-profit investment fund has since created a blueprint for others to follow and as of this year has invested in more than 200 companies led by underestimated founders according to the article cited here. There is still a discrepancy though and, in this article, we learn a little bit more about why.
In this article we learn that of the U.S. venture assets under management (about $1.42 trillion) in 2020, a slim 1% worth of capital was managed by Black investors. Drilling down further, specifically looking through the gender lens, 99.97% of total capital under management by Black VCs was controlled by men, while women only managed 0.03%. Read on to learn more about this very sobering reality check!
Show Me the Money
With plans to invest in approximately 15 AI companies across Ireland over the next 10 years, the new?Sure Valley Ventures?fund has recently raised €30m with Enterprise Ireland as a cornerstone investor according to the article cited here. The new fund will invest in AI software companies in sectors such as enterprise, immersive technologies and cybersecurity. Called the Sure Valley Ventures III fund (SVV3) it will be managed by the same SVV fund team that has managed the firm’s previous two funds.