Luxembourg (6-7 December 2022)

Diversity is more than gender. However, European Investment Fund (EIF) has tackled one of the major ones, female representation in the investment world, in its two-day event “Empowering Equity” held in Luxembourg.

WIT Angels Club had the chance to participate in and met female fellows from VC, Private Equity and Private Debt European ecosystem. Throughout the inspiring conversations we had, a few takeaways to share:

1/ Angel investors are crucial in nurturing startups in their earliest and most vulnerable stages. They provide a unique package of finance, mentorship, and networks. European angel investment increased by 89.9% from 2020 to 2021, setting a new record with 1,456 Million Euros of investments made last year (source: EBAN Statistics Compendium 2021)

2/ However, the % of women in Europe within the angel investment asset class has been stagnant at about 10% on average over the last decade (source: The Recursive)

3/ Despite the demonstrated higher success rate of women-led startups, these still represent around 1% of the overall capital invested. One of the reasons is that women don’t have equal access to capital and it’s because the venture capital world is usually a men’s world. Only 10-15% of partners in funds are women. But, this is where women angel investors should play a significant role on the tech scene.

4/ Tech with impact is here to stay, as impact is becoming a core ingredient of every investment (finally!)