SMARTER SYSTEMS: How Tweaking Your Diligence Process Can Unlock Overlooked opportunities ACCELERATOR IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE

The gender financing gap persists. Women-led startups raise significantly less capital than startups led by only men. That number has hardly budged over the past decade — despite the fact that data continues to suggest that women-led startups outperform startups with all-men founding teams. For investors and entrepreneur support organizations, focusing on only a fraction of all entrepreneurs means they leave significant opportunities for returns on the table. For startups, this gender financing gap means promising innovations do not receive the resources they need to scale. The “Smarter Systems” toolkit not only outlines 3 ways to reduce discrepancies in investment evaluation processes, it also proves why doing so is key for unlocking more opportunities for investors, accelerators, and women-led startups, and increasing equity in the innovation economy.