Speedinvest Blog

Investing in Women in Fintech

April 7, 2021

by 

No items found.

Taylor Anderson

Why do women have a harder time rising to C-level positions? Why do female founders tend to get less funding? Why do female-founded startups tend to get lower valuations? 

Bridging the opportunity gap

Women are just as capable of becoming powerful and successful business entrepreneurs and leaders as men. For most, this assertion does not require any debate. 

In fact, a study conducted by the Boston Consulting Group found that, on average, startups founded or co-founded by women return 78 cents for every investment dollar compared to 31 cents from their all-male counterparts. But women still receive only 2% of all venture capital funding. This funding gender gap is especially wide in traditionally male-dominated sectors like Fintech. What can we do about this?

Starting and leading the conversation

Our Speedinvest Fintech Associate, Gunita Bhasin, and Venture Partner, Deepali Nangia, sat down with a panel of female entrepreneurs and leaders from our portfolio to break open the topic. 

Together, they explored some of the reasons for this contradiction and what can women - and the VC industry as a whole - do to even the odds, featuring :

Key points of discussion: Unconscious bias and the business ladder

We know that success in VC, as a founder, or of any grand endeavor is largely based upon knowing the right people, people give us access to feedback, talent and, of course, funding. The problems come from the human tendency towards unconscious in-group bias. Simply put, while we may not try to discriminate against people, we’re just more comfortable with - and therefore more likely to support - people who remind us of ourselves.

But overcoming this bias isn’t the only hurdle. 

The in-depth discussion touches on everything from challenges of growing a business while also building a family to the impacts of COVID-19 on working women, and much more.

Watch the entire panel discussion or jump ahead to the questions we’ve highlighted.

  • Why do women have a harder time rising to C-level positions? (17:52)
  • Why do female founders tend to get less funding? (26:47)
  • Why do female-founded startups tend to get lower valuations? (30:26)

Learn more about the Speedinvest Fintech team and sign up for our newsletters to get our exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.

From The Blog

Europe’s Tech Counter-Offensive: Building Our Own Way

Explore how Europe is forging a bold new path in tech. Speedinvest CEO Oliver Holle shares 5 key insights on Europe's startup ecosystem, funding shifts, and sector strengths, revealing why the continent is ready to lead, not follow, in global innovation.

How Opal Became the #1 Focus App and a $10M Business With Just 11 People

Discover how Opal, the world’s leading focus and screen time app, grew to $10M ARR with a lean team. Founder Kenneth Schlenker shares insights on attention management, product-market fit, and mission-driven growth backed by Speedinvest.

Backing Paradox: Building the Organizational Intelligence Layer for the AI Age

Paradox reimagines organizational design with AI-driven clarity and alignment. Learn how their dynamic reasoning graph unlocks real-time insights, accelerates decision-making, and fosters hyper-alignment in fast-growing companies. Discover why this is the future of enterprise AI.