This learning brief summarizes lessons learned across two of ANDE's Advancing Women's Empowerment Fund (AWEF) cohorts in Africa and Asia. The eleven AWEF grantees had similar experiences across their different regions and time periods, most notably in regards to the approaches and programming that are most successful and impactful in reaching women entrepreneurs. This evidence suggests that women entrepreneurs may face similar barriers to investment across varied geographies - and further, the solutions and programmatic adjustments that have found success may be more similar than we think.
"The gender financing gap persists. Women-led startups raise significantly less capital than startups led by only men. According to PitchBook Data, in 2021, 85.4% of global VC dollars went to startups with only men on the founding team.
That number has hardly budged over the past decade — despite the fact that data continues to suggest that women-led startups outperform startups with all-men founding teams. For example, a BCG study found that women-led companies generate more than twice as much additional revenue per dollar invested (78 cents versus 38 cents) and a PitchBook study found that women-led startups reach their exit stage a full year earlier than all-male-founded startups (median 6.4 years versus 7.4 years).
For investors, focusing on only a fraction of all entrepreneurs means they leave significant opportunities for returns on the table. For startups, this gender financing gap means promising innovations do not receive the resources they need to scale.
That is why Village Capital partnered with IFC, We-Fi, the World Bank, and researchers Amisha Miller and Saurabh Lall to identify and test several concrete ideas for how to help close the gender financing gap. With the support of a research coalition that also includes Visa Foundation, Moody’s, ANDE’s Advancing Women’s
Empowerment Fund, Sasakawa Peace Foundation, and ANDE’s SGB Evidence Fund, we have identified several promising interventions.
Now we are sharing our results, and encouraging investors and accelerators to take action."
Come join us for an ANDE Members Networking Reception at Halcyon in Washington, D.C!
The ANDE London Member Meeting will take place this April in London, UK and provide an opportunity to network, connect, discuss challenges, and share new findings.
The first Learning Community session of 2023 will be at the #MadeInWestAfrica event in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and will consist of working groups from South Africa and West Africa.