‘Feminine Founder Workplace Hours’ launches throughout MENA — led by Playfair Capital and International Ventures
- Version VIII would be the largest occasion but with over 400 girls founders and 150 VCs from throughout the UK, Europe and MENA
- Over £480m has been raised by firms attending one of many earlier editions
- 5,230 mentoring classes for girls founders delivered since October 2019 with assist from Google for Startups, Tech Nation and Phrases + Pixels
London / Dubai, 26 September 2022:
Playfair Capital and International Ventures have immediately introduced the launch of ‘Feminine Founder Workplace Hours’ throughout MENA — with 150 of the world’s main enterprise capital funds, together with: Atomico, Balderton, Creandum, EQT Ventures, Firstminute, Localglobe, Northzone, Notion and Seedcamp — internet hosting digital mentoring classes for over 400 girls founders from throughout MENA, the UK and Europe on tenth November 2022.
Launched in London in 2019, Feminine Founder Workplace Hours breaks down obstacles to funding for feminine entrepreneurs, notoriously underserved by the worldwide funding neighborhood. Every founder meets 4 buyers nearly for one hour to debate their know-how and enterprise mannequin, ask for recommendation, pitch for funding or discover a mentor. The founders meet a mixture of native and worldwide buyers to obtain a various perspective on the enterprise they’re constructing and to broaden their community.
The occasion is being hosted by Playfair Capital, with the assist of Dubai-based International Ventures, Tech Nation, Google for Startups and Phrases + Pixels. The earlier seven editions noticed a complete of 5,230 particular person mentoring classes, with 1,307 founders and 200 buyers participating. Up to now, 32% of founders have gone on to lift £280m of funding after attending an occasion, with success tales together with Apryl, Freyda, HIVED, Vira Well being, Opply, Sixfold Bioscience and SymTerra.
The eighth version is a part of an ongoing and long-term dedication to redress the gender imbalance in fundraising, and consists of growth to MENA to have interaction and assist the following technology of girls founders around the globe.
Chris Smith, Playfair Capital’s Managing Accomplice, commented:
“The underrepresentation of girls founders in enterprise capital funding is a worldwide downside. We’re, due to this fact, delighted to be increasing the initiative we began within the UK, again in 2019, to MENA. This can be a area stuffed with unbelievable expertise and promise. But, except for a comparatively small variety of pioneers, it’s a area missing the widespread assist required for girls who need to construct globally vital firms. This occasion permits us to attach these girls founders at scale, wherever they’re positioned within the area, to native and worldwide buyers to construct new relationships, discover new mentors and, in the end, safe funding.”
Sacha Haider, Accomplice at International Ventures, commented:
“Growing the pipeline of feminine founders has been entrance of thoughts for regional capital allocators for a number of years now, so it’s actually thrilling to see prime VCs from the ecosystem collaborate for the primary version of Feminine Founder Workplace Hours in MENA. Whereas the ecosystem has made essential strides in recent times, with 35% of tech companies being based by feminine entrepreneurs in MENA, there’s nonetheless numerous work to be accomplished. Feminine Founder Workplace Hours goals to create entry to capital and construct a neighborhood of buyers for regional feminine founders. Variety of management and thought are essential elements shaping the way forward for MENA’s entrepreneurial panorama — feminine founders are a key a part of that.”
Yasmin Almostehy, MEVCA Govt Director, commented:
“We’re seeing booming curiosity in feminine founders within the area, and the VC ecosystem is coming collectively on many fronts to launch initiatives that particularly goal feminine founders. IFC analysis has proven that feminine founders within the MENA area obtain lower than 10% of all personal fairness and enterprise capital funding. And it’s time we handle this with impact-yielding initiatives, reminiscent of this one. We’re blissful to assist Playfair Capital, International Ventures, and the complete ecosystem in contributing to the correction of the gender hole within the area.”
Lauren Nicholson, Tech Nation, commented:
“Founders’ Community is as soon as once more proud to be participating within the eighth version of Feminine Founder Workplace Hours. It’s been a privilege to assist assist 1,300+ girls founders over the past three years to participate within the 5,230 one-to-one mentoring and pitch conferences that Feminine Founder Workplace Hours has facilitated. We’re proud to be part of their start-up journey and are trying ahead to welcoming the brand new 400+ feminine founders, and women-led groups, who will be part of us within the November Version and to seeing the place the occasion takes them.
The eighth version can be an opportunity to rejoice the continued growth of our Feminine Founder Workplace Hours initiative into new areas, from Europe to the Center East and Northern Africa and to supply extra feminine founders the chance to develop and scale their companies by supporting them on their fundraising journey.“
For extra info and to make an software to attend the occasion please go to: http://playfaircapital.com/ffoh/
-ENDS-
UK press contact: Nick Braund, Phrases + Pixels. nick@wordsandpixels.co / 07766 015 256
MENA press contact: Johanna Lawson-Dick, Thoburns. j.lawsondick@thoburns.com / 07539 031 841
Notes to Editors:
About Playfair Capital
Playfair Capital is an early-stage fund that commits to firms early and with conviction. Based mostly in London, Playfair combines the most effective points of angel investing with a centered fund, to spend money on actually bold founders, wherever they’re on the planet. Playfair takes a sector-agnostic strategy and investments span deep tech, SaaS, marketplaces and B2B firms. We’ve backed the founders of greater than 70 firms together with Mapillary (acq. Fb), CryptoFacilities (acq. Kraken), Omnipresent, Orca AI, Ravelin, sprout.ai, Thought Machine, Trouva and Vinehealth.
About International Ventures
International Ventures is a global enterprise capital agency, investing in founders and concepts scaling throughout the Center East and Africa. International Ventures backs global-minded founders which can be main growth-stage firms and utilizing know-how to rework rising markets and the world. Portfolio firms embody: Abhi, Altibbi, Improve Health, Hive, Helium Well being, Paymob, Proximie, Pyypl, Purple Sea Farms, Sympl, Tarabut Gateway, Workforce Apt, and Zid.
Extra info might be discovered at https://www.international.vc/
About Tech Nation
Tech Nation fuels the expansion of game-changing founders, leaders and scaling firms to allow them to positively rework societies and economies. We offer them with the teaching, content material and neighborhood they want for his or her journey in designing the long run. Our present mission is to unlock the expansion potential of 1000 scaling tech management groups throughout the UK by 2022. We need to contribute to a future through which anybody with imaginative and prescient and drive can entry the abilities and assist wanted to succeed as a game-changing chief.
About Google for Startups
Google for Startups works to stage the taking part in area for startup founders and communities to succeed by bringing the most effective of Google’s merchandise, connections, and finest practices to startups. Paired with a deep dedication to create numerous startup communities, lots of our choices are designed particularly to offer underrepresented founders with entry to sources and alternatives. We assist startups in every single place to construct one thing higher. As a result of when startups succeed, all of us succeed.
About Phrases + Pixels
Phrases + Pixels is a London-based PR company that specialises in working with Europe’s main scaleups. Sector agnostic, W+P companions with progressive manufacturers aiming to disrupt their business through the essential hyper-growth interval.
Having labored with the likes of Lime, AirBnB, Again Market and plenty of different startup success tales, W+P’s group is uniquely centered on producing impression that makes a distinction to firms constructing for achievement.A bootstrapped three-year outdated enterprise itself, W+P introduced over £1 billion in funding in 2022, and was named Small PR Consultancy of the Yr.
