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Female StartAperitivo ACADEMY…

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October 6, 2022

Female StartAperitivo ACADEMY for more women in the startup ecosystem

female founders

To advance the issue of gender balance in Hamburg's startup scene, the City of Hamburg has launched the Female StartAperitivo ACADEMY. A further development of the Female StartAperitivo event series, the initiative offers hands-on workshops for female startup founders as well as master classes for potential female business angels.

There is still a lot to do

Only 20% of founders in Germany are women - and of the venture capital awarded worldwide, all-female teams receive just around 3%, mixed teams around 9%. Although teams with at least one woman at the helm have been proven to perform better - in terms of return on investment, jobs and technology. On the investor side, things don't look any better: Only just under 13% of business angels in Germany are women. In venture capital firms, the share of female decision-makers is currently only about 5%. (Sources: European Women in VC | Deutscher Startup Monitor).

The ACADEMY is for beginners and free of charge

To improve this situation, the Hamburg Investors Network of IFB Innovationsstarter has launched the Female StartAperitivo. The event series has now been expanded to include the Female StartAperitivo ACADEMY. All events are specially designed for newcomers and are aimed at women who are interested in founding or investing in startups. The ACADEMY offers selected and practice-relevant workshops for female founders. For women who want to become business angels or learn more about startup investments, the ACADEMY offers master classes by experienced industry insiders. The events are sponsored by the Ministry of Economics and Innovation (BWI) and the Hamburg Investment and Development Bank (IFB). The offers of the ACADEMY are therefore free for all participants.

“Thanks to the additional funding provided, we were able to put together a great program that really advances both groups, female founders and potential investors.”

Christoph Steckhan, Director of the Hamburg Investors Network

Female investors wanted!

From the perspective of co-initiator Heidrun Twesten (Impacct GmbH, EQUALIZER Podcast), both sides also need to be strengthened: "The fact that women only get a small slice of the VC pie is also due to the fact that so few women invest in startups! For many, the topic of venture capital is very myth-ridden, a "black box" whose jargon excludes most from the start." To make the first step into this world easier, experienced practitioners share their expertise with participants at the Female StartAperitivo ACADEMY. They talk about the biggest challenges, existing obstacles and answer the most important questions about starting and investing.