The VC Factor: Gender Lens Edition (Invest Europe)

Summary

• Combining 2021 and 2022 accounted for one third of all VC volumes invested since 2007.p.3
• The dataset tracks investment activity across 2,824 VC firms and 35,310 start-ups across 613 Functional Urban Areas.p.5
• Between 2011 and 2021, women held 14% of top-level positions in European VC firms.p.13
• All-male start-up teams made up 78% of total founders and CEOs and received 82% of total VC funding.p.3
• All-female start-up teams secured under 1.8% of total VC investment volumes.p.3

Key insights

1. Two-thirds of total European VC investment volumes involve flows between two distinct hubs.p.3
2. For every 100 potential connections between European VC hubs, just over one is actually realised.p.7
3. The proportion of female founders and CEOs in European VC-backed start-ups grew from 6.7% in 2011 to 10.5% in 2021.p.13
4. A total of 92.7% of female investors in Europe work within male-majority VC firms.p.14
5. Male-majority VC firms handle 68% of total European VC investment volumes.p.18
6. All-female startup teams represent 3% of total investments under €1m but only 0.88% of deals over €10m.p.19
7. The female participation rate in top-level VC firm positions increased from 9% in 2011 to 12.5% in 2021.p.13