‘Feminine Founder Workplace Hours’ launches throughout MENA — led by Playfair Capital and World 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 corporations attending one of many earlier editions
- 5,230 mentoring classes for ladies founders delivered since October 2019 with help from Google for Startups, Tech Nation and Phrases + Pixels
London / Dubai, 26 September 2022:
Playfair Capital and World Ventures have at the moment 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 group. 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 help of Dubai-based World 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 collaborating. Thus far, 32% of founders have gone on to lift £480m 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 contains enlargement to MENA to interact and help the subsequent era of girls founders all over the world.
Chris Smith, Playfair Capital’s Managing Accomplice, commented:
“The underrepresentation of girls founders in enterprise capital funding is a world drawback. We’re, subsequently, delighted to be increasing the initiative we began within the UK, again in 2019, to MENA. This can be a area filled with unimaginable expertise and promise. But, except for a comparatively small variety of pioneers, it’s a area missing the widespread help required for ladies who need to construct globally vital corporations. 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, finally, safe funding.”
Sacha Haider, Accomplice at World 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 necessary strides lately, with 35% of tech companies being based by feminine entrepreneurs in MENA, there’s nonetheless a number of work to be executed. Feminine Founder Workplace Hours goals to create entry to capital and construct a group of buyers for regional feminine founders. Range of management and thought are necessary elements shaping the way forward for MENA’s entrepreneurial panorama — feminine founders are a key a part of that.”
Yasmin Almostehy, MEVCA Government 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 non-public fairness and enterprise capital funding. And it’s time we tackle this with impact-yielding initiatives, equivalent to this one. We’re completely happy to help Playfair Capital, World Ventures, and your entire 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 collaborating within the eighth version of Feminine Founder Workplace Hours. It’s been a privilege to assist help 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 a part of us within the November Version and to seeing the place the occasion takes them.
The eighth version can be an opportunity to have a good time the continued enlargement 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 data 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 corporations early and with conviction. Primarily based in London, Playfair combines one of the best elements of angel investing with a centered fund, to put money into actually bold founders, wherever they’re on this planet. Playfair takes a sector-agnostic strategy and investments span deep tech, SaaS, marketplaces and B2B corporations. We’ve backed the founders of greater than 70 corporations together with Mapillary (acq. Fb), CryptoFacilities (acq. Kraken), Omnipresent, Orca AI, Ravelin, sprout.ai, Thought Machine, Trouva and Vinehealth.
About World Ventures
World Ventures is a world enterprise capital agency, investing in founders and concepts scaling throughout the Center East and Africa. World Ventures backs global-minded founders which can be main growth-stage corporations and utilizing know-how to remodel rising markets and the world. Portfolio corporations embody: Abhi, Altibbi, Improve Health, Hive, Helium Well being, Paymob, Proximie, Pyypl, Purple Sea Farms, Sympl, Tarabut Gateway, Group Apt, and Zid.
Extra data will be discovered at https://www.international.vc/
About Tech Nation
Tech Nation fuels the expansion of game-changing founders, leaders and scaling corporations to allow them to positively remodel societies and economies. We offer them with the teaching, content material and group 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 during which anybody with imaginative and prescient and drive can entry the abilities and help 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 one of the best of Google’s merchandise, connections, and greatest practices to startups. Paired with a deep dedication to create various startup communities, lots of our choices are designed particularly to supply underrepresented founders with entry to assets and alternatives. We help startups in all places 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 modern manufacturers aiming to disrupt their business throughout 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 crew is uniquely centered on producing impression that makes a distinction to corporations constructing for fulfillment.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.
