Summary of the event
Empowering equity is not just a “women’s issue,” but something that concerns us all.
If you’re a European VC fund manager or part of startup team, take note of how many women are part of the conversation during your next meeting. The numbers are shocking. For startups, it’s a meagre 12%, and venture capitalists don’t fare much better at roughly 23%. As the saying goes, the hardest thing to see is often right in front of your eyes.
For the second edition of our Empowering Equity event, EIF experts were joined by fund managers from across Europe for a day of exploration, insights, debates, and networking with like-minded GPs. Whether gender smart investments or practical how to’s in terms of pitching to the EIF or sorting out legal matters, the underlying goals were to identify opportunities, to elevate investment proposals, and ultimately to strengthen women’s voices, a multipronged approach that can foster a more balanced ecosystem for an even stronger European economy in the future.
Returning to the point at the beginning, namely the gender composition of the audience, diversity and inclusion are cultural, economic, and societal priorities. As such, we look forward to seeing more men in the audience at next year’s event!
Welcome from the EIF and the European Commission
Marjut Falkstedt and Kerstin Jorna
The EU’s pledge on empowering equity
Do good ideas get ignored in an economy built for men? Following the warm welcome by Marjut and Kerstin, the day kicked off with a targeted look at the EU’s commitment to driving change across the private equity landscape through efforts such as capacity building and awareness raising.
Global Inspiring Women Worldwide Award winner and Head of the EIB Institute, Shiva spoke about the two pillars driving the Institute’s work (leadership and impact), whilst Hristo (EIB Advisory) described the genesis of the Advisory, which was borne from an EIB tracking study showing a lack of investment in women VCs (plus ça change?).
Taking a wider-lens view of things, Astrid (European Commission) emphasised the need for a holistic approach to empowerment, one that begins with the educational system and its potential to re-frame the conversation so that subsequent generations of women can pursue different educational paths and career opportunities.
From gender labs to re-designing cities (too many of which have been conceived mostly by and for men) to meet the needs of women, an unambiguous message emerged: the EU remains resolutely committed to empowering women—and women in equity.
Masterclass: Power up your pitch to the EIF
Have you ever wondered how to submit a proposal to the EIF? Curious to know what we look for and the criteria by which proposals are assessed? Our masterclass aimed to demystify the process, offering a series of insightful do’s and don’ts when pitching for funding.
As an experienced fund of funds investor in private equity, venture capital, and private credit, we have two fundamental criteria. First, we consider the commercial aspects of a fund and the extent to which it is attractive to the market. Second, we take a policy-oriented approach to determine whether the fund aligns with specific policy objectives.
Additional layers of information were added by EIF colleagues Elodie, Ghislain, Cindy and Miruna. From submission, screening, and due diligence to board review and legal, the process can take up to twelve months or longer, especially for first-time and emerging teams.
Masterclass: Typical legal obligations for an EIF deal
Legal services matter, but the process can be opaque to those outside of the EIF, which is why the second masterclass of the day provided invaluable insights into the legal framework under which the EIF operates as well as the rigorous scrutiny applied when negotiating with fund managers.
Raluca and Gizem walked the audience through the many moving parts at play throughout the journey to signature, from a broader overview of the comprehensive internal approval process to the granular details of mandate terms and conditions.
The need for patience emerged as a key component of the process, which can be lengthy but exacting. The session itself, however, was a relatively brief but information-packed one, offering a great opportunity for everyone in the room and online to ask and learn from the experts.
Seeing the unseen
Questions of institutional culture were at the top of the agenda, as Lisa led a thought-provoking session with panellists Deepali (Speedinvest), Kinga (EWinVC), Rainer (HV Capital), and Uli (EIF) around seeing the unseen—the persistent lack of gender diversity.
Whilst it is unreasonable to expect deeply embedded practices to be reversed overnight, the question of how best to effect incremental changes hinged around the need for a cultural shift that sees gender parity as integral for women’s career progression and overall inclusion. It’s also key to the long-term viability of the funding and startup ecosystems.
Here’s to increased visibility for women VCs and founders in the months and years ahead. It’s time to start looking at the entire picture, rather than only half of it.
Fireside chat with industry players
Fireside chats are known for their candour and directness, and both were on full display as Eleni (Halcyon Equity Partners), Lisa-Marie (Fund F), and Idoia (Talde) shared their triumphs and frustrations.
Eleni, for instance, described how she started her career twenty-three years ago in the completely male-dominated world of investment banking, one of only four women on a floor of seven hundred men. She’s now at the helm of her own multi-million-euro fund, the first female-led fund in Greece.
Lisa-Marie expressed her exasperation over the slow pace of change and the exodus of women from the industry before sharing the proactive steps that she and her colleagues decided to take to redress the situation, which ultimately led them to create Female Founders, an initiative that aims to inspire, support, and promote entrepreneurial women in European tech.
Idoia recounted her varied yet purposeful career, from auditor at Arthur Andersen and fourteen years at BBVA to her present role of Corporate Managing Director of Talde, a pioneer in private equity in Spain. As if these impressive accomplishments weren’t enough, she also revealed that she’s a classically trained pianist (!).
Part of changing the narrative is not only seeing the unseen but in hearing the unheard, and the compelling voices of Eleni, Lisa-Marie, and Idoia spoke to their extraordinary personal journeys and even more impressive professional expertise.
The power of data
With everyone’s eyes and ears now recalibrated from the previous sessions, it was time to turn to this year’s VC Factor, a data-driven collaboration between the EIF and Invest Europe, which filtered everything through a gender lens—with some surprising results.
Simone walked everyone through the main points of the comprehensive report to provide a nuanced, multifaceted view of female participation across sectors and ranks, regional and generational variations, whilst additional layers of information were added by EIF colleagues Elodie, Ghislain, Cindy and Miruna.
A lively panel discussion moderated by Lisa ensued, with Simone joined by fellow EIF colleagues Antonia and Patric along with Jean Baptiste from Invest Europe. The takeaway from the session? The numbers speak for themselves.
Other EU and national initiatives
After a brief pause for a quick stretch and cup of tea, everyone returned for a brisk survey of upcoming EU and country-specific funding opportunities with a singular objective, namely, to empower women in decision-making positions in the VC and private equity industry and indirectly to foster female entrepreneurship.
Silvia and Daniela were joined on stage by Agnieszka (DG GROW) and Amparo (EIT Food), who covered a range of women-centric opportunities and investments across Europe, from broader ecosystem initiatives to specific measures. These include:
- European Prize for Women Innovators, which showcases women innovative women scientists and innovators
- Women TechEU, which supports women-led deep tech startups
- EIC Women Leadership Programme, which champions the role of women in innovation and tech
After a whirlwind day of exploring the peaks and valleys of empowering equity, Silvia and Lisa concluded the programme with some final thoughts about what had been seen and heard.
Although the event had to draw to a close, one thing was clear: the conversation continues.
We’re already counting the days until Empowering Equity 2024!
