Women in Ventures
Driving balance in business by empowering and supporting women entrepreneurs and investors.
An initiative in collaboration between The Angel Initiative and WorldStartup.
Gender equality in entrepreneurship is just not a ‘nice extra’.
Increased innovation
Businesses with diverse leadership, including gender diversity, are 33% more likely to outperform their peers in innovation (McKinsey).
More impact
Women-led businesses prioritise societal impact more than the male-led counterpart, aligning with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (Erasmus University).
Economic growth
Equal entrepreneurial opportunities for women and men would lead to an estimated €139 billion in growth in the Dutch economy (ABN AMRO & McKinsey).
Our vision
Our vision is to reshape the narrative of women entrepreneurs and investors, breaking down limiting mindsets and increasing balance in business to accelerate the growth and impact of women entrepreneurs and investors.
How do we do this?
By working collaboratively together with the ecosystem, we apply a two-fold approach of hands-on with direct support and wider ecosystem change):
1) Providing increased and improved access to capital and other resources for women impact entrepreneurs and
2) Acknowledging that it at the core is a cultural issue, we facilitate a culture and mindset shift in the ecosystem *by initiating the conversation around balanced values in business.*
“It’s not about headcount. It’s about mindset.”
Direct support to women entrepreneurs and investors:
De Kookschool
De Kookschool is a local and inclusive entrepreneurial programme, hosted in collaboration with hetkanWEL, ImpactCity The Hague and WorldStartup, for and by a diverse group of women in the Hague who want to make an impact together.
Women in Ventures Pathway Pre-incubator programme
10 women changemakers, 100 days, 100% positive growth.
Facilitating a mindset shift within the ecosystem:
Balance in Ventures event
A one-day joint learning experience to co-create a manifesto for gender equality in the Dutch entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Workshops on balanced values
Exploring the need and approach of balancing masculine and feminine values in business and investment to promote more sustainable, inclusive and progressive business practices.
