The 21st century has been a revolutionary one, and that’s particularly true for women, who’ve achieved and surpassed everyone’s expectations, including their own when it comes to their rights as well as their place in the business sphere of things.
Currently, over 12 million American companies are owned by women, and their impact has sent ripples throughout micro-economies all across the country, sometimes even on a much grander scale.
However, the data shows that less than 5% of venture capitalists invested in startups owned by women, and if you look at already successful companies, only 11% of all partners are women.
This only goes to show the lengths women have to go to just to make a name for themselves, and it only makes their battle that much more respectable.
Fortunately, there are government agencies and resources that are dedicated to helping these businesses flourish, and we’ll go over some of them right now.
37 Angels
It’s no secret that there’s a gender gap when it comes to investing, and among the numerous companies that try to put an end to it, 37 Angels stand above the competition.
The organization focuses on investing money in startups that just entered their early stages, and while it is meant for women-owned companies, they do offer their assistance to men as well.
On top of this, their transparent and remarkably easy application process makes obtaining funding an easy task for entrepreneurs coming from any background.
When the organization receives the finalized pitches from up-and-coming business owners, they eliminate the projects that don’t show too much promise, and those that make it into the final stages will receive a decision on investment in just 4 weeks.
Talk about punctuality!
Cartier Women’s Initiative
Unlike 37 Angels, the Cartier Women’s Initiative program works on a global scale, and they offer dozens of awards to woman-owned businesses from any country of the world, so long as it’s from a sector focused on the sustainable impact on the environment or society.
These awards come in the form of grants, and they can range from $30k to $100k, based on the nature and the projected success of the business.
Apart from projects focused on environmental and social impact, the organization has recently introduced the Science and Technology Pioneer Award, which will be given to female entrepreneurs working on scientific innovation and projects in technology.
With the help of the Cartier Women’s Initiative, even your idea might just turn into something great one day, so never stop working on it.
GrantsForWomen.org
Similar to how crowdfunding webpages offer non-refundable funding options for just about any cause, this website offers assistance in the form of grants to female business owners in need of a small push.
However, what sets this website apart from the rest is the fact that they list granting opportunities at both local and national levels, which might make your search for funding that much easier.
This way, you may run into companies that you’ve never even heard of that are willing to help your business grow, and with just a bit of dedication on your end, you may be able to turn that dream into a reality.
Another benefit of GrantsForWomen.org is that they tend to highlight the most recent opportunities that may have popped up, and you may want to keep your visits as frequent as possible to capitalize on these deals.
Kapor Capital
Even though Kapor Capital invests in companies owned by people from all demographics and walks of life, they’ve recently boasted the amount of investment they’ve done when it comes to woman-owned companies.
According to the data they’ve collected, around 38% of their first-time investments have been in companies founded by a person who identifies as a woman.
Of course, this also speaks volumes of their inclusivity policies, and with the way the world’s slowly developing, opportunities like this that are available to persons of all genders are crucial for the future.
Their focus so far has been on startups looking to make changes and solve some glaring issues in education, health, finance, and justice, all of which tend to have a high concentration of female workers or female founders.
Tory Burch Foundation
Created in 2009, this foundation’s goal has been the empowerment of women, and their agenda hasn’t changed ever since, as they’ve extended a helping hand to woman-owned businesses for what’s practically a decade and a half at this point.
Through their fellows’ program, woman-owned businesses can gain access to a workshop at the organization’s offices, where they’ll learn all there is to know about successfully running a business in spite of the very evident funding gap.
On top of this, the companies are given around $5k for business education, whereas the most successful companies from the fellows’ program are given a chance to speak at Tory Burch Foundation’s Pitch Day event.