Say hello to women-only venture capitalist funds

India might see a women-only angel network very soon. Three years ago Golden Seeds, one of the top three angel groups in the US, was in the country to look at such a possibility. Shoba Purushothaman is a Malaysian born entrepreneur, who helped during the process that was conducted back then in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.

She told the Economic Times, “now with the environment being more conducive it might actually be a perfect time for such an initiative to take off... it might galvanise in 18 months.” Women-only venture capital funds such as Golden Seeds or Women’s Venture Capital Fund, invest in ventures that have at least one woman as a co-founder or at the C-suite level with significant equity holding.

In India, Tie Stree Shakti (TSS) aims to do something similar for aspiring women entrepreneurs. Harsh Mariwala, chairman of Marico, favours the idea. He says, “It is a good opportunity to pioneer the concept... If a fund is positioned towards women-led ventures it would encourage more women to explore entrepreneurship opportunities... I think it is a matter of time that you will have a fund dedicated to women.”

Economic Times>

Similar to Golden Seeds, very few VC funds exist in developed markets like in the US and Europe. They are however, slowly gaining popularity in other parts of the world. Monica Dodi is the co-founder and managing director of a US-based Women’s Venture Capital Fund that aims to target women entrepreneurs building scalable businesses. So far her firm has invested in four companies and is looking to invest in ten more. They are also planning to launch another fund.

A study by McKinsey & Co ‘Women Matter: Gender Diversity, a Corporate Performance Driver’, states that companies that have a good ratio of men and women in leadership positions, deliver a 10% increased average return on equity, 47% increased average EBIT, and a higher stock price growth.

ORIGINAL SOURCE: Economic Times

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/emerging-businesses/startups/women-only-venture-capital-funds-may-get-wings-to-fly/articleshow/44954511.cms?curpg=2