TLDR:
Women-led start-ups saw a decline in VC funding in 2023, with only 9.3% of funding going to female founders in India. This reflects deep-rooted patriarchy and unconscious biases in the society.
Summary:
In 2023, a report by WinPe revealed a decline in VC funding for women-led start-ups in India, dropping to 9.3% from 14.7% in 2021. This gender disparity widens the gap compared to Europe and the US. Another study by BYST showed that over 85% of women entrepreneurs faced difficulties in obtaining credit services from public sector banks. Data from the International Finance Corporation also indicated that in emerging markets, women-led start-ups receive only 11% of seed funding. Ankita Pegu from WSP stated that projecting women as investment-ready remains a challenge. Jaya Vaidhyanathan highlighted the deep-rooted patriarchy in Indian society and the unconscious biases that favor male-led start-ups. Despite being the third-largest start-up ecosystem, women-led start-ups continue to struggle for funding.
