TiEcon Delhi-NCR 2023: Despite Breaking Stereotypes, Indian Women Founders Faced Investment Loss Of $3.7 Billion In 3 Years, Study Finds

Among all the unicorns in India, 19 percent are founded by women, valued at over $30 billion. There's still a lack of funding.

The report found that 43 percent of women-founded startups are B2B businesses.

Source : Getty

India boasts nearly 28,000 startup companies, out of which only 18 percent have women founders, noted the ‘Creating 10x Women Founders In India’ report prepared by the not-for-profit TiE Delhi-NCR. Released on the sidelines of the startup-focused TiEcon Delh-NCR 2023, the study noted that women founders have faced an investment loss of nearly $3.7 billion in the last three years. The report is intended to create a blueprint of how various stakeholders in the country can work together and build an equitable startup ecosystem.

At Par With Men, Yet Facing More Challenges

Among all the unicorns in India, 19 percent are founded by women, valued at over $30 billion, the study noted. Some of the most prominent firms include the likes of Byju’s, Acko, Lenskart, Mamaearth, MobiKwik, Livspace, and more. 

The report found that 43 percent of women-founded startups are B2B businesses, showcasing their ability alongside their male counterpart to set up B2B and B2C startups. Additionally, despite stereotypical myths, 8 percent of female-founded startups deal with deep tech — compared to 11 percent of all male-founded startups. 

Furthermore, the study also noted that out of every 1,000 startups, only seven reach the late stage. This is in comparison to eight out of every 1,000 male-founded startups reaching the late stage. 

“Despite high entrepreneurial intent, socio-cultural barriers hinder women founders,” the report noted. “Besides, their underrepresentation in technology and business domains also inhibits entry into the start-up ecosystem.”

The investment loss of around $3.7 billion in the last three years signifies a disparity in ticket size faced by women founders. 

The study noted that from an investor’s perspective, female founders come off as “more cautious,” lowering the deal size for them.

“Women founders also face more scrutiny on their commitment compared to male counterparts which makes negotiations more challenging from their point of view,” the study noted.

Priority Improvement Areas

The report has listed six priority areas to help improve gender equity in the startup sector. They include:

• Improving women’s representation in tech and business to improve “their odds of becoming entrepreneurs.”
• Tackling socio-cultural barriers that “discourage women from considering entrepreneurship.”
• Making sure that women founders can offer investors “stage-appropriate asks.”
• Offset increased scrutiny when making deals.
• Tackle society-based stereotypes when hiring.
• Reduce time taken for “concrete business metrics” for Series A.

Held on March 17 and March 18, TiEcon Delhi-NCR 2023 looked at the multiple challenges faced by startups, thrown up by the post-pandemic geopolitical scenario and marked by a serious economic downturn.

The event featured a diverse lineup of speakers including Amitabh Kant (G20 Sherpa, Government of India), Deep Kalra (Founder and Chairman at MakeMyTrip Limited), Aman Gupta (Co-Founder and CMO, boAt Lifestyle), Aditya Ghosh (Founder, Homage and Co-Founder, AkasaAir), Shikhar Dhawan (Indian Cricketer), Alok Mittal (Co-founder and CEO at Indifi Tech), Apurva Chamaria(Head, Startups and VC at Google India), among others.