In the conversation around funding and specifically the funding of women-led and diverse teams, one of the most-heard arguments is that there's not enough opportunity in the pipeline to diversify the investments. However, this chart shows just the tip of the iceberg of how much opportunity there is in the Dutch ecosystem.
Get female founders funded
The data is all too real and by now common knowledge. When it comes to raising capital, men consistently outperform women. According to research by Niessen en De Mol in 2018 only 1.6% of venture capital funding is allocated to female founders in the Netherlands. However, we don’t really seem to have a clear understanding on why this is.
One of the biggest arguments in the conversation is that there’s a lack of talented female founders and therefore opportunity.
Over 200 opportunities
At The Next Women, we like to proof those naysayers wrong and present our first canvas of women-led companies in the Netherlands. This canvas shows an array of great companies led or (co-)founded by women. The opportunity in the market is there, whether we look at the “little webshops’ turned ecommerce imperiums, HR, femtech, Health or Finance. Female founders are more than present.
Visibility is key
Last week we launched our 50 The Next Women to Watch and The Next Women100, placing another 150 companies in the spotlight. Something we’ve been doing for the last eight years and something we will continue working on.
It’s time we finally break new ground in terms of closing the gender gap that exists between female and male founders seeking funding. VCs, angel investors, and others making the decision to invest have the greatest power to fuel this change. Which means to come into action and actively change the way you’re doing business at this moment.
#FundRight
Because the future of venture capital is not just women investing in more women, it’s also men stepping up and funding female founders. At least that’s what the #FundRight pledge is all about. A real commitment to a dedicated strategy of investing in diverse founders to truly change the world of investing for the better.
Because equality = growth.
