Tracking Venture Capital with a Gender Lens
Project Sage, published by Wharton Social Impact Initiative, is a roundup and analysis of 58 venture funds strategically investing in women. The funds have a combined targeted fund size of nearly $2 billion. To date, the funds have raised $1.3 billion and backed more than 650 companies.
Key findings include:
- There is considerable diversity in fund structure and sector focus given the relative nascency of gender lens investing.
- Across the funds, the percentage of women as venture partners and women on investment committees diverges far and away from the industry norm of only 7%. Of the funds included in Project Sage, 59% had all women partners.
- The vast majority are vehicles based in the United States and largely benefiting women in the U.S. Of the remaining funds raised, Latin America and Africa are the primary recipients of capital.
- Funds have fnanced at least 650 enterprises to date.
- Other than VSc, other investment vehicles include holding company or evergreen structures, funds with sidecar vehicles enabling investors to co-invest into specifc deals, and organizations ofering venture funds that also invest in building community amongst entrepreneurs and investors.
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