Irish woman-led start-ups secured investments of €100 million from venture capital firms in the previous year, according to a recent study, making Ireland the third-highest ranking in Europe. The report, carried out by financial data specialist PitchBook, explored the extent of venture capital funding for women entrepreneurs throughout Europe.
The findings were revealed alongside the introduction of a fresh initiative, “The Road to VC Investment programme”, designed to enhance opportunities for female entrepreneurs to secure funding. The programme is the outcome of the third collaborative effort between Enterprise Ireland and the Irish Venture Capital Association. Comprising mentoring, strategies for tax management and legal matters, the programme also offers exposure to top-tier venture capitalists for honing pitching skills and gathering feedback.
Enterprise Ireland’s executive director, Jenny Melia, claimed that government remains devoted to expanding the Irish venture capital market with a view to granting access to funding for all high-growth SMEs and entrepreneurs. Programmes like ‘Road to VC’ that aid woman-led enterprises in securing a greater share of venture capital investment, are of prime importance, stated Melia.
Melia emphasised the importance of a vibrant entrepreneurial landscape, capable of leveraging the skills and ambition of a varied populace, to Ireland’s economic prosperity. In the past year alone, 31% of their fund recipients were woman-led start-ups. Enterprise Ireland’s ongoing goal is to boost this figure via offerings like their Pre-seed Start Fund, Innovative HPSU Fund, and VC fund investments through the €175 million Seed and Venture Capital Fund.
The PitchBook ranking, which placed Ireland ahead of the UK and Switzerland, but trailing Estonia and Iceland, was well-received by the agency. Their objective remains to foster an ecosystem that promotes equal representation of genders and enables female entrepreneurs to flourish, Melia noted. Furthermore, IVCA director Sarah-Jane Larkin expressed the organisation’s commitment to increasing the representation of woman-founded companies that can tap into venture capital and receive funding.
The Road to VC programme’s next phase was launched at a function preceding Irish Women’s Day, a development applauded by Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, the Minister of State for Financial Services, Credit Unions, and Insurance. While the Minister acknowledged Ireland’s advancements, she expressed a desire for a future where targetted support for female founders becomes redundant as women-run companies achieve the same investment levels as their male counterparts. Encouraging more women to establish their own businesses remains a crucial component to achieving this.
Data from Enterprise Ireland reflects a rising trend of backing for female entrepreneurship in the nation. In 2011, start-ups spearheaded by women made up a mere 7 per cent of the total start-ups funded by the agency. By last year, this figure had escalated to 31 per cent.
In a 2023 report by Tech Ireland analysing funding, it was discovered that one quarter of start-ups that raised funding in 2022 included a woman founder or co-founder. The report, however, highlighted an inequality in the average funding amount received by start-ups led by women compared to the overall start-up population, which is a worrying trend.
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