Levelling the Playing Field: Key Levers to Mitigate Gender Bias in European Venture Capital
About EIT Supernovas
Supernovas exists to unlock Europe’s full potential by improving gender diversity in entrepreneurship and investment, empowering women founders and investors to drive lasting change.
Meet the Team Driving Gender-Inclusive Innovation Across Europe
Blanca Chocarro
Supernovas Lead
Ana Alcaine
BA Academy, Investor Community, Fundraising Support
Celeste Reglá
Rocket Up
Celia Alija
VC Academy
Women2Invest
Paula Sevillano
Stakeholder Engagement, Data Room
Asier Sannio
Communication Manager
Kirra Pickering
Rocket Up
Why do we exist?
The Supernovas Programme is an EIT Community Initiative led by EIT Food, EIT Manufacturing and EIT Urban Mobility, Knowledge and Innovation Communities of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). The aim of the Supernovas programme is to bring more women into the world of entrepreneurship and investment.
Women remain underrepresented in Europe’s technology and innovation ecosystem, and that imbalance results in significant economic value loss.
Although 17.4% of deeptech startups have at least one woman founder, they receive only 11.4% of venture capital, and less than 2% goes to all-women founding teams.
Gender-diverse founding teams create more value for investors, achieving a 6.5× increase in enterprise value compared with 5.5× across all scaleups.
Only 16% of European VC general partners are women, controlling just 9% of investment power.
Each 10% increase in women’s representation in venture capital teams raises financial returns by 1.3 percentage points in IRR.
Women remain underrepresented in Europe’s technology and innovation ecosystem, and that imbalance results in significant economic value loss.
Our Approach to Achieving Impact
Through our tailored programmes and resources, we empower women founders and investors to thrive at every stage of their journey.
Women2Invest
Training programme for women with STEAM background studies to break into venture capital, with potential internship matching.
• VC Fundamental Training
• Internship Matching for Top Performers
• Career Development
VC Academy
A programme for women VC investors to advance their careers with expert training in both technical and personal skills.
• Career Acceleration in VC
• Practical Tools for Everyday Investing
• Networking with Women Investors
Business Angels Academy
Programmes for new and experienced women business angels to start or advance in angel investment.
• Deal Flow Analysis
• Due Diligence
• Portfolio Management
Rocket Up
A programme enabling top women-founded technology ventures to expand successfully across Europe.
• Market Entry Strategy
• Local Validation
• Fundraising Guidance
Fundraising Support
Dedicated and customized support for leading women-founded technology startups to raise funding.
• Fundraising Strategy
• Visibility to Investors
• Coaching
Data Room
A dedicated open platform that collects and analyses updated data on women-led startups supported by EIT.
• Curated Investment Opportunities
• Women Entrepreneurship Showcase
• Awareness and Inspiration
Women2Invest
Training programme for women with STEAM background studies to break into venture capital, with potential internship matching.
• VC Fundamental Training
• Internship Matching for Top Performers
• Career Development
VC Academy
A programme for women VC investors to advance their careers with expert training in both technical and personal skills.
• Career Acceleration in VC
• Practical Tools for Everyday Investing
• Networking with Women Investors
Business Angels Academy
Programmes for new and experienced women business angels to start or advance in angel investment.
• Deal Flow Analysis
• Due Diligence
• Portfolio Management
Rocket Up
A programme enabling top women-founded technology ventures to expand successfully across Europe.
• Market Entry Strategy
• Local Validation
• Fundraising Guidance
Fundraising Support
Dedicated and customized support for leading women-founded technology startups to raise funding.
• Fundraising Strategy
• Visibility to Investors
• Coaching
Data Room
A dedicated open platform that collects and analyses updated data on women-led startups supported by EIT.
• Curated Investment Opportunities
• Women Entrepreneurship Showcase
• Awareness and Inspiration
Our Impact So Far
Since 2022, startups participating in Supernovas’ scaling activities have raised over €88 million, and 524 women have been trained in investment, among other impact numbers achieved across the ecosystem. Discover more results from our work:
524
Women Trained in Investment
Women2Invest
Supporting women with STEAM studies in launching their careers in Venture Capital
189 Women trained
35 VC Funds collaborating today
30 Intership/FT jobs to date
VC Academy
Training programme in personal and professional skills for women venture capital investors
175 Women inverstors trained
Business Angels Academy
Training programme for new and experienced women business angels
160 Women trained
100
Supported Women-Led Startups
42% have successfully raised funds across 23 countries
The total is lower than the sum of 42 and 76, as 18 startups participated in both the Rocket Up and Investment Forums over the four-year period.
Rocket Up
Startup programme to support women-founded ventures on their internationalisation
42 Participants
Investment Forums
Curated events to connect investors with the best women-led startups
76 Participants
Data Room
Women-led startups supported by EIT showcased in a rich & user-friendly data base
1,150+ Startups showcased
88M€
Investment attracted by supported startups
97x
Leverage effect
(vs 8x EIT average)
Each euro invested in the programmes generated €97 in capital raised. Refer to the EIT average for reference.
Testimonials
Don’t just take our word for it, hear from our alumni.
”The programme has allowed me to review concepts that I had learned before, but also to reflect on my own investment thesis and has made me aware of how I had readjusted it over time.”
EMMA FAU
Founder, WA4STEAM and EUcapital
Business Angels Academy 2023 graduate
”Thanks to Rocket Up, we saved €160,000 and gained world-class mentoring, a powerful network, and EU-backed support to fast-track our market entry.”
JULIA KATRIN ROHDE
Co-Founder & CEO, agriBIOME
Rocket Up 2023 graduate
”Coming from a technical background, Women2Invest gave me the essential knowledge to kickstart my career in venture capital.”
ANNA CACHADIÑA
Now a VC Investor at Crane Venture Partners
Women2Invest 2023 graduate
”Raising VC Stars facilitated the creation of a large network of women across Europe with similar interests, something that would otherwise be much more difficult to achieve.”
ANA DELGADO
Co-Founder & CEO,
VC Academy 2024 graduate
Testimonials
Don’t just take our word for it, hear from our alumni.
EMMA FAU
Founder, WA4STEAM and EUcapital. Business Angels Academy 2023 graduate
The programme has allowed me to review concepts that I had learned before, but also to reflect on my own investment thesis and has made me aware of how I had readjusted it over time.”
JULIA KATRIN ROHDE
Co-Founder & CEO, agriBIOME Rocket Up 2025 graduate
Thanks to Rocket Up, we saved €160,000 and gained world-class mentoring, a powerful network, and EU-backed support to fast-track our market entry.”
ANNA CACHADIÑA
Now a VC Investor at Crane Venture Partners Women2Invest 2023 graduate
Coming from a technical background, Women2Invest gave me the essential knowledge to kickstart my career in venture capital.”
ANA DELGADO
Co-Founder & CEO, VC Academy 2024 graduate
Raising VC Stars facilitated the creation of a large network of women across Europe with similar interests, something that would otherwise be much more difficult to achieve.”
Access our reports
and dive into the research driving Supernovas
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