Navigating the capital-raising environment is especially challenging for women. But the investing community and the startup ecosystem can benefit from a two-pronged approach: advocacy and intentionality.
Tina Di Cicco, Chairperson of MAIN’s Gender Lens Investing Committee, discussing MAIN's Gender Lens Investing strategy.
This was the statement of Tina
Nepomuceno-Di Cicco, the Gender Lens Investing Committee Chairperson of Manila
Angel Investors Network (MAIN), the Philippine’s largest network of angel
investors, in the recently concluded FoundHer Forum, organized by a Filipino-based
women-led inclusion studio, Imaginable Impact at KMC One Ayala in line with
Women’s Month.
In her keynote speech, Di Cicco
highlighted that advocating for and intentionally supporting women-led
businesses will encourage more women to succeed and attract and grow
investments.
“Through advocacy, we communicate our
vision and goals, as well as promote and support each other’s businesses.
Intentionality, on the other hand, is when we turn our advocacy into
action–it's when we put our resources into investing in women and helping make
women-led businesses succeed,” Di Cicco said, sharing tips on how women can
appear more investible.
In addition, she noted that while the
gender gap remains a pressing issue with only 2% of global venture capital
funds going to women-led businesses, investments on women entrepreneurs are in
fact growing in Southeast Asia with data indicating that female-led startups
raised $1.41 billion in equity funding in 2023, which accounts for 18 percent
of capital raised in the region. This is a 12.6 percent increase from the
previous year.
Di Cicco also pointed out that the
current trend indicates that more investors and networks are using Gender Lens
Investing when considering startups to invest in and support. Gender Lens
Investing (GLI) is a strategy that MAIN employs, through the support of the
Australian Aid’s Investing in Women program, to maximize investment potential
in women-led businesses. Through the GLI, MAIN provides extensive support to
women-led startups, especially those at the early stage, in terms of capital
allocation, training, and mentorship. To date, more than 40% of the startups
that MAIN members have invested in are female-led.
“We are hearing investors
prioritizing portfolio diversity, with many incorporating gender lens investing
strategies. What we see across the board is a slow but steady increase in
gender lens investing,” Di Cicco said, underscoring investors’ intent to address
gender disparity through their investment choices.
“This is the time for women founders.
We are being sought. We are more visible. There is no better time to be a woman
than now,” Di Cicco added.
The FoundHer Forum is a signature
event series elevating the conversation on investing in female founders, to
bridge the capital gap for women in the startup ecosystem. Aside from MAIN,
FoundHer Forum was made possible in partnership with KMC Solutions, a leading
provider of flexible office space requirements and co-working space for
emerging businesses in the Philippines.
Aside from supporting women-led
businesses, MAIN, composed of more than 120 angel investors, aims to increase
the number of female investors in the Philippines by diversifying their own
membership. MAIN is also a member of the Gender Lens & Impact Investment
Council (GIIC), a member-based industry body that seeks to build the gender
lens and impact investment ecosystem in the Philippines.
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About Manila Angel Investors Network
(MAIN)
MAIN is the largest committed private
investors network in the Philippines that was formed to support the country’s
startup ecosystem by connecting investors with promising early-stage companies.
Apart from providing capital funding, it also mentors entrepreneurs, provides
expertise support, and opens networking opportunities. This innovative startup
ecosystem will benefit both MAIN members’ portfolio and overall growth of
Filipino startups.
MAIN’s upcoming pitch nights are
slated on April 30 (Q2), July 23 (Q3), and October 22 (Q4). The network also
conducts seminars and training sessions semi-annually. This includes a
StartupAcademy and MAINAcademy sessions this coming May, and a HardTalk session
in June.
To learn more about these upcoming
events, stay tuned to MAIN’s social media platforms (linkedin.com/company/manila-angel-investors-network/) for more
details. For investors interested in joining MAIN, please contact
invest@main.ph.
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