The power of women-founded startups

On 2 June, inDrive took part in the inaugural?GITEX Africa?in Marrakech, Morocco - an event that seeks to “unite every community in the innovation ecosystem across Africa”. We were there to highlight the?Aurora Tech Award?and one of its most recent alumni, Marie-Reine Seshie, founder and CEO of?Kola Market?Inc, which was shortlisted for the award earlier this year.?

As such, inDrive’s Business development representative for Morocco, Hamza El Madrani, hosted Marie-Reine at GITEX, where they discussed “the power of women-founded startups”.

Marie-Reine’s startup, Kola Market uses artificial intelligence to help small and medium enterprises streamline their inventory. Drawing on a business’s sales data, along with real-world information such as inflation, weather and fuel prices, Kola helps companies determine which products to stock and just how much they should order on a daily basis. Kola Market thus empowers small businesses, helping them to maximize their profits and grow sustainably.?

As such, Kola Market startup is a stellar example of everything the Aurora Tech Award stands for:?a woman-founded startup, working in advanced technologies, and making a significant impact on global development.?

So why is Aurora Tech looking to support and highlight startups like this? Well, a recent article in Forbes gives some shocking statistics, which serve as a compelling argument for the need:.?

First,?the article notes?that “of the $330 billion in venture funding spent in 2021, just 2% went to all female-founded businesses.” That’s pretty sad, in this day and age. It’s not just a case of inequality though; as the article goes on to point out, it’s also indicative of a boatload of missed opportunities:

“A?2018 study of more than 350 startups conducted by Mass Challenge and BCG, concluded that businesses founded by women yielded higher revenue—more than two times as much per dollar invested—than those founded by men … In addition to generating higher returns, female founders have proven to be more capital efficient and performance driven, yielding multiple, positive bottom lines over time.”

If that wasn’t enough, the article goes on to give several?more good reasons?to invest in women-founded startups. Here’s hoping venture capitalists everywhere are taking note.

In the meantime, the Aurora Tech Award will keep pushing for more attention for businesses such as Marie-Reine’s Kota Market, to make sure everyone knows just how great these startups are.?Not only to remedy an obvious case of unfairness, but also to ensure that the world doesn’t keep losing out on a clearly underutilized resource: The power of women-founded startups.