Scaling a startup requires capital to put money into expertise, rent expertise, and obtain product-market match. Many entrepreneurs depend on traders to fund this imaginative and prescient, however feminine founders discover it harder to safe capital in comparison with males as a result of systemic challenges together with biases in enterprise capital decision-making and the restricted variety of feminine founders pursuing high-growth alternatives.  

In 2024, feminine CEOs raised simply $48 million—4 instances lower than the earlier yr, based on the Huge Deal. That is the bottom determine since 2019. In distinction, their male counterparts raised $2.2 billion.

Norrsken22, a progress fund that invests in African startups, has backed female-led firms throughout Africa together with Credrails, a fintech firm, led by Pauline Wanjiku Githugu, and Sabi, a Nigerian B2B e-commerce platform led by Anu Adasolum. 

TechCabal spoke with Lexi Novitske, Basic Companion at Norrsken22, and Valuable John-Adeyemi, Funding Analyst at Norrsken22, in regards to the challenges of feminine entrepreneurs and bridging the funding hole.

This interview has been barely edited for size and readability. 

What are the obstacles feminine founders face in accessing funding?

Lexi: Networking. Everybody struggles with it however feminine founders typically join extra inside their circles, whereas the funding world continues to be very male-dominated. 

Valuable:  Ladies begin companies in sectors that VCs typically understand as much less scalable or much less worthwhile. Though these companies leverage expertise, they continuously function in legacy industries reminiscent of client items, schooling, or healthcare—sectors that, regardless of their financial significance, don’t at all times match the high-growth profiles favoured by VCs.

Moreover, restricted entry to networks makes it more difficult for girls to determine relationships obligatory for enterprise progress. That is why we have to be intentional and proactive in supporting female-founder-focused communities and applications. By fostering extra inclusive networks and making certain better illustration in funding and decision-making, we might help bridge this hole.

How would you say these challenges have advanced over the previous 5 years?

Lexi: Extra ladies are main funds and becoming a member of funding groups, which helps. The larger shift? Traders have seen sufficient female-led firms scale and ship severe returns, so the bias is tilting in a extra constructive course. Success speaks louder than stereotypes.  

Valuable: Nicely, there was progress in addressing these challenges. Step by step, we’re seeing extra recognition of the funding hole, resulting in the rise of female-focused VC funds, accelerators, and grant applications. Extra traders at the moment are monitoring gender range metrics of their portfolios and making aware efforts to again female-led firms. Norrsken22 could be very proactive about it; we monitor the variety of female-led startups that are available in by way of our pipeline. And it’s hopeful to see a whole lot of VCs choosing up on that as properly. 

What values do enterprise capital corporations sometimes search for when evaluating startups and do you suppose it’s lacking in female-led startups?

Are there particular monetary or operational milestones that feminine founders ought to prioritise to extend their possibilities of securing funding?

Lexi: Similar as for any founder—black, white, male, feminine, Ivy League, or self-taught. Present sturdy traction, repeat buyer engagement, enticing unit economics, and predictable progress. No particular playbook—simply execute properly.  

Valuable: Prioritise sturdy income progress, wholesome unit economics, and a transparent path to scalability. VCs search for companies with constant traction, excessive gross margins, and environment friendly buyer acquisition & retention methods. A transparent path to exit (worthwhile exit) will increase investor confidence, positioning the enterprise as a high-potential funding alternative.

What traits ought to feminine founders give attention to to extend their possibilities of securing funding?

Lexi: We don’t chase hype, however actual alternatives are on the market—stablecoins making cross-border funds seamless, fixing fragmented provide chains, Pan-African banking, and the like.  

Valuable: AI is indubitably a significant focus within the funding panorama proper now. However past the LLMs, generative AI, and different headline-grabbing improvements, I imagine the actual alternative lies in leveraging AI to drive effectivity, automation, and transformation in legacy industries. For instance, in healthcare, AI can improve diagnostics, personalise therapies, and streamline administrative processes, making healthcare supply extra accessible and cost-effective. That’s one thing I wish to see. 

What frequent errors ought to feminine entrepreneurs keep away from when pitching to traders? 

Lexi: One: Not being concise. Be taught from current pitch templates and nail a transparent, compelling story. Two: Not figuring out precisely how a lot cash you want, what you’ll use it for, and the KPIs that may show its value.  

Valuable: Feminine founders shouldn’t be afraid to promote—not simply their product, however their imaginative and prescient, their market alternative, and their skill to scale. Too typically, ladies pitch with a give attention to operational excellence, threat mitigation, and sustainable progress, whereas male founders have a tendency to emphasize daring ambitions, market dominance, and high-reward potential. Traders wish to again companies that may generate important returns, and that requires founders to confidently articulate an enormous imaginative and prescient and the trail to reaching it.

Promoting isn’t nearly income, it’s about convincing traders that the enterprise has the potential to develop into an business chief. This implies proudly owning the numbers, confidently projecting future progress, and making a powerful case for why the corporate is the suitable wager. Ladies ought to embrace the identical degree of conviction, storytelling, and scale-driven pondering that always defines essentially the most profitable fundraising pitches. The flexibility to promote is not only a ability; it’s a necessity for securing capital and constructing high-growth companies.

What assets or instruments would you advocate to ladies entrepreneurs trying to enhance their fundraising abilities?

Lexi: Begin native: Nigeria and main different African tech hubs have angel networks which can be nice for refining your pitch and prepping for more durable investor questions. Have strong processes in place however be able to brainstorm and iterate. Most significantly, be upfront about what gaps nonetheless exist in your organization. Nobody has all of it discovered, and admitting that—whereas exhibiting the way you’ll remedy it—is a energy.  

Valuable:  Don’t underestimate the facility of group. There may be a lot worth to be gained from a powerful community impact. Communities supply extra than simply help, they supply a prepared viewers to pitch to, goal suggestions to refine your fundraising technique, and direct connections to traders who might in any other case be out of attain.

In Nigeria and throughout Africa, there’s a rising ecosystem of female-founder-focused networks and broader founder communities that actively help ladies entrepreneurs. Platforms like FirstCheck Africa, She Leads Africa, and Ladies Who Construct Africa create areas for knowledge-sharing, mentorship, and funding alternatives. 

Being energetic in these communities is not only about networking, it’s about constructing relationships, studying from others’ experiences, and making certain you stay seen to potential traders. The most effective fundraising alternatives typically come from heat intros inside these circles. If you happen to’re a feminine founder trying to increase capital, tapping into these networks ought to be a prime precedence.