We support women with STEAM studies in launching their careers in Venture Capital. Our program provides training in the fundamentals of this profession and connects participants with internship opportunities with VC funds. The training program 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 Nutsell
Women2Invest is an access and training activity aimed at:
Helping women with technical (STEAM) studies start their career in venture investment by training them in the fundamentals, giving them access to investors recruiting interns and increasing female presence in venture capital.
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 2023 cohort timeline
05/09/24
3 Months
11
Online
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.
STEAM talent is needed in deep-tech early stage investment. 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.
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.
In this context, Women2Invest aims at helping participants to find a job in venture capital at a junior entry level by playing diverse roles:
- Advocator for female STEAM talent in venture investment.
- Identifier of the best female STEAM talent.
- Educator in the fundamentals of the industry and the tools to start their careers.
- Matchmaker between recruiting investors and candidates.
How?
Who is Women2Invest for?
We look for participants meeting the following criteria:
What type of investors are we looking for?
Venture Capital funds, Corporate Venture Capital funds and Corporate Venturing units:
Seeking new hires and committed to improving the gender-balance and investments decisions of their investment teams.
Offering paid internships in investment related positions for at least 2 months, should they find a suitable candidate.
Agreeing to allow candidates to combine training and internship (if coinciding).
Committing to pay at least the minimum wage in their country.
Seeking new hires and committed to improving the gender-balance and investments decisions of their investment teams.
Offering paid internships in investment related positions for at least 2 months, should they find a suitable candidate.
Agreeing to allow candidates to combine training and internship (if coinciding).
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). Fund onboarding is an ongoing process that will remain open throughout the year.
Women2Invest in 2022: key data and testimonials
66 participants completed the training programme successfully. The participants in 2022 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.
23 funds recruited from the 2022 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.
Highlights of the 2022 edition
66 participants of 27 different nationalities participated in the 2022 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.
If you have any questions or queries, please contact Ana Alcaine at ana.alcaine@eitfood.eu