According to PitchBook data, 21 of the 319 climate technology funding rounds in the U.S. in 2023 went to women-founded companies. This corresponds to her 6.6% of the transaction.
Globally, the odds aren't that great: female founders in climate change technology closed 826 rounds compared to 826 for male founders. There were only 58 cases.
“Female Founder” refers to a female presenter who acts as the sole founder of a company. This title is newer than I expected. Until HR 5050 is passed. Women Employers Act 1988In many states, women needed a male relative to cosign for business loans.
Crunchbase's data on gender-related funding trends is slightly more skewed than Pitchbook's numbers. its tracking showed that 65 US-based, women-founded climate change technology companies received VC funding, or 10% of all funding rounds, in 2023.Those deals also included seawall construction company Kind Designs. $5 million seed round With environmental data venture Amini's $4 million seed round.
The same database shows: 565 climate technology startups founded by men We received funding around the same time.
The discrepancy between Pitchbook and Crunchbase data is likely due to the way each researcher defines climate technology. In any case, the numbers for 2023 will be a step backward. Female founders raised $106 million in 2022, compared to $80 million in 2023, according to PitchBook data.whole sector We will experience a decline in VC funds in 2023, This is likely a contributing factor to the decline in investment by female founders.
Causes of large funding disparity
Why does the gender gap exist, even though the need for climate change technology is greater than ever? Simply put, the venture capital world is dominated by men, and historically Historically, men have invested in other men rather than women.
According to „, only 11% of partners in venture capital firms are women.Promoting gender equality in venture capital”, a report from the Women and Public Policy Program at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Historically, VCs have tended to fund startups with all-male management teams. “Less than 5% of all VC-funded companies have a woman on their leadership team, and only 2.7% have a female CEO.” According to an analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a nonpartisan think tank,.
„There's no shortage of amazing women who can and should start businesses,“ said Veeley Maxwell, co-head of venture and growth at Galvanize Climate Solutions, a venture capital firm focused on climate change. Green Biz last year“But often they don’t want to take the leap because they don’t think they can get the funding.”
One good reason to close the gap
Research shows that businesses founded by women earn twice as much for every dollar invested as businesses founded by men. A study of five years of data by Boston Consulting Group. The study found that money invested in women-founded businesses generates 78 cents on the dollar, compared to 31 cents for men-founded businesses.
Similarly, in 2022, Pitchbook research results found For 12 consecutive years, startups founded by women exit faster than startups founded by men, by an average of 7.2 to 8.1 years, respectively.
Do you know of a female-founded climate startup that bucks this trend? Share your feedback (email protected).