Women2Invest
We support women with STEAM studies in launching their careers in Venture Capital. Our programme provides training in the fundamentals of this profession and connects participants with internship opportunities with VC funds. The training programme is powered by IE Business School, counting with top voices of the European ecosystem.
Our mission is to foster female STEAM talent into the investment ecosystem while offering investors access to a talent pool of promising women for their investment teams.
Women2Invest in a nutshell
Women2Invest is an access and training activity aimed at:
Supporting women with technical (STEAM) studies start their career in venture capital investment by training them in the fundamentals, and giving them access to investors recruiting.
Giving investors (venture capital, corporate venture capital or corporate venturing units) access to a pool of promising women that will add diversity to their investment teams.
Women2Invest 2024 cohort timeline
Why?
Diverse teams make better investment decisions. Female presence managing Venture Capital Funds in Europe is low, particularly in senior positions, with only 15% of female GPs and more than 80% of investment committees being all male.
Female presence in many STEAM degrees is still very low, and female graduates might favour other careers, partly due to lack of exposure and lack of female role models in venture investment.
STEAM talent is needed in early stage investment in high-tech and deep-tech. However, graduates in this type of degrees often have no or limited training or exposure to the business and financial aspects that are also essential in venture investment.
How?
Identifying and electing a pool of participants with STEAM degrees interested in starting a career in venture investment (previous investment education or experience is not required).
Training the participants in the fundamentals of venture investment to prepare them for an entry role in the industry .
Networking with seasoned investment professionals, other participants and Women2Invest alumnae.
Matching candidates with participating funds looking to recruit candidates for a paid internship.
Who is Women2Invest for?
We look for participants meeting the following criteria:
STEAM graduates
Undergraduates, masters or PhD.
Passport holders
From one of the 27 EU member states or one of the Horizon Europe Associated countries.
Interested in investing
With genuine interest in the venture capital industry and investing. No previous experience is required!
What type of investors are we looking for?
Venture Capital funds, Corporate Venture Capital funds and Corporate Venturing units:
Agreeing to allow candidates to combine training and internship (if coinciding).
Offering paid internships in investment related positions for at least 2 months, should they find a suitable candidate.
Committing to pay at least the minimum wage in their country.
To learn about our approach and hear testimonials by participating funds, please check this video, a real invest in women conference.
Investors, are you interested in recruiting this year or in future editions? Please register here or email Ana Alcaine (ana.alcaine@eitfood.eu), Celia Alija (celia.alija@eitfood.eu) . Fund onboarding is an ongoing process that will remain open throughout the year.
Key data and testimonials
66 participants completed the training programme successfully. The participants in 2023 showed large diversity, with 27 different nationalities, diverse educational backgrounds, levels and field of professional experience, including research/academia, entrepreneurship, institutional and corporate careers.
If you would like to hear some participants’ testimonials, check this video.
Highlights of the 2023 edition
66 participants of 27 different nationalities participated in the 2023 Women2Invest edition and 23 funds recruited for internships. 25%+ of participants already have jobs or internships which they obtained during or after the programme, with many promising ongoing processes.
23 funds recruited from the 2023 cohort: Astanor, Atlantic Labs, BeAble Capital, Breega, BYND Venture Capital, Cherry Ventures, Diffusion Capital Partners, Digital+ Partners, European Circular Bioeconomy Fund ECBF, eureKARE, Faber Ventures, FoodLabs, Icebreaker, Kompass Digital, Mundi Ventures, Planet A, Plug and Play Tech Center, PropTech1 Ventures, Startup Wiseguys, UNIQA Ventures, XAnge, Ysios Capital, Zubi Capital. Headquartered in 9 different countries, their combined geographical footprint covers most of Europe; their technology/industry focus areas include agritech/food, biotech, cyber, deep-tech/deep science, fintech, insurtech, impact/sustainability and proptech.
Furthermore, other funds helped us promote Women2Invest and support our participants, including Peakbridge, Primo Ventures, Indico and Shilling.
To learn about our approach and hear testimonials by participating funds, please check this video.
Interested in joining the 2024 cohort?
If you have any questions or queries, please contact Celia Alija at celia.alija@eitfood.eu.