Why are women entrepreneurs missing out on funding? Reflections and considerations by Surya Fackelmann, and Alessandro De Concini

 Executive summary
 Empowering women remains a common denominator and a global imperative for all those 
who care about fairness and diversity, but also productivity and growth of societies and 
economies that are more inclusive. If we can achieve this, we all gain. 
Christine Lagarde, ECB President and former IMF Managing Director
 Pick any of these indicators: potential increase of 26% of global annual GDP and of $160 tn of hu
man capital wealth; 15% likelier better business performance; $5.9 tn estimated additional global 
market cap1. What could we do in order to attain these indicators? The answer lies in addressing 
the gender employment gaps and the lack of gender-diverse decision making among the finan-
cial and business community globally. The world over, one of its best assets is underrepresented, 
undervalued and unevenly treated. All this, despite the evidence and data points confirming that 
supporting women’s economic empowerment makes not only ethical and social but also eco-
nomic and business sense.
 With this report, we attempt to contribute to the existing body of evidence by assessing the ac-
cess-to-risk-capital conditions for women-driven companies. In particular, we analyse the trends 
of venture capital funding for women-led and women-founded companies in the EU and, by com-
parison, in the US and Israel to contextualise emergent cross-country and regional barriers and 
gaps. Data from PitchBook has been complemented by interviews with market practitioners of 
the European venture community and other stakeholders. 
We find that disparities persist, with women-led companies still accounting for a small portion of 
deal flow and overall volume invested. That said, the rate of growth has increased across every 
region examined in this study, with a key contributor being the unprecedented increase in late-
stage investment.
 However, structural inequities and persistent biases in terms of both the supply of and demand 
for finance still hinder the transition to a more balanced, more accessible and ultimately better 
functioning funding environment. For this reason we put forth and analyse a number of options 
and considerations – both financial and policy-related – that could help accelerate this transition.

 A growing number of investors from diverse backgrounds have come to realise the benefits 
of actively promoting women’s empowerment. And we have seen that as a result of this 
global step change, European institutions, EU Member States, FTSE 100 and other blue-chip 
companies, international financial institutions, and we here at the EIB, are stepping up to 
the plate on gender equality.
 Alexander Stubb, Former Vice-President, EIB

Why are women entrepreneurs missing out on funding? Reflections and considerations by Surya Fackelmann, Alessandro De Concini