(Finance) – In Europe, the attention of venture capital funds towards female-led startups remains high. In the last decade, between 2014 and 2023, as revealed by the Dealroom portal, the share of venture capital investments in female startups went from 5.4% to 9.6%with an increase of +77% which led to almost a doubling of the invested amounts. In 2023, again according to the same study, the startups led by women they have raised, at a European level, 5.8 billion euros in venture capital funds.
The share of investments earmarked for female startups differs significantly from one European country to another, ranging, in the four-year period 2019 – 2023, from 52.8% in Lithuania to 0.7% in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Among the large EU nations, the leader in this market is Spain with 13.3%, followed closely by Italy which with 10.8% does better than France and the United Kingdom (10.4%) and Germany, bringing up the rear with 8.8%.
The startups founded by women they concentrate, in investments, on different sectors: the healthcare sector, again in the four-year period 2019-2023, conquers the highest step of the podium with 19.2%, closely followed by fintech (18.5%), while completing the top 3 the software development sector (12.7%). At the business focus level of the financing rounds raised in Europe by female startups in the four-year period 2019-2023, almost half (48%) were allocated to Saas (Software as a service), a third (31%) to manufacturing and a fifth (21%) to market and e-commerce. For a startup and its founders, entering the unicorn club, companies that exceed a valuation of 1 billion dollars, remains a fundamental goal.
At a European level, in 2023, there will be 35 unicorn startups founded by women (there were 14 just 5 years ago, in 2019) and among these almost half (15) are based in the United Kingdom, 5 in Germany, while 3 are in tests female unicorns in France, Italy and Sweden.
Unfortunately, in Italy, even today, women’s businesses suffer from a long-term cultural deficit which slows down the full development of interesting business opportunities. In 2023, according to the latest available data released by Unioncamere and from‘Istatthe female-owned companies registered in the Peninsula were over 1.3 million, a number slightly decreasing (-0.9%) compared to 2022, therefore representing a share equal to almost a quarter (22%) of the total national productive fabric . Among the sectors that have suffered a greater slowdown in terms of the closure of female businesses we find commerce (-8 thousand activities), agriculture (-6 thousand) and manufacturing (-2 thousand), while almost all Italian female entrepreneurs (90.7% ) operates in the service sector. 4 of these companies out of 10 (37%) are based in the South.
To support the increase and development of innovative female businesses in Italy, LifeGate Way, the open innovation hub of the LifeGate group which brings together the largest ecosystem of sustainable native Italian startups with the protagonists of innovation, has created, in collaboration with Ventive, an investment and consultancy company for startups and innovative SMEs, Women in Action, a female acceleration program of which the first edition has just concluded. Objective of the course: to accompany entrepreneurs and aspiring founders to acquire and train tools to create sustainable businesses that can grow generatively and fuel the common good.
What actions should companies and the State introduce to relaunch and encourage female entrepreneurship?
Changing work culture is not easy and takes time. It’s a question of mentalitywhich concerns all of us: men, women, legislators, managers and entrepreneurs, he says Elga Corricelli, co-founder and supervisor of the Women in Action program. Companies can make a difference when they are led by far-sighted leaders who foster inclusive teams, promoting transparency and meritocracy as fundamental levers for selection and professional growth. Furthermore, they should guarantee flexibilityrespecting people’s life cycles, adopt a generative language that promotes equal relationships and support startups and women’s businesses to encourage innovation inside and outside the company. In this way, they spread the culture of female participation and leadership throughout the ecosystem, a factor that can accelerate female entrepreneurship.
The institutions, on the other hand, have greater power, but unfortunately act more slowly. We need a real paradigm shift to concretely promote female entrepreneurship, starting from school and building a fair social system, with real support for parenting and effective services for elderly care. In Italy, in fact, women are still primarily responsible for caring for children and the elderly. In addition to the cultural aspect, which must be stimulated first by the family and then by the school, concrete help is needed, not just economic.
Finally, explains Corricelli, it is essential to continue to propose successful female models who have contributed to the innovation of the country. We have many, but we often don’t know them or ignore them. Culture needs continuous injections of concrete actions and real stories from which to draw inspiration.
In 2023, the share of funds raised at European level by female startups was equal to 5.8 billion euros. How much is expected for the current year? And what are the forecasts for the next few years?
In 2023, startups founded by women in Europe raised around 5.8 billion euros, marking a significant increase compared to 2022. In fact, the previous year, only 0.9% of the total invested capital was allocated to startups with female founders, while in 2023 this share grew to 1.6%. While still a small percentage, it represents an encouraging step forward.
Currently, over 1 billion euros has already been invested in the first months of 2024representing 19.4% of the total capital allocated to European startups. This demonstrates a growing interest in businesses led by women, even if the road to achieving full equality is still long. Challenges remain, particularly the lack of women in decision-making roles at venture capital funds, but every progress contributes to a more inclusive future.