Funding destinations for female entrepreneurs in 2025, with the highest and least amounts secured.
In the dynamic world of venture capital, a significant disparity exists when it comes to funding for women-led startups. Here's a snapshot of the current landscape, based on data from various sources.
In the United States, women-only teams received only 2% of venture dollars in 2021. This trend was mirrored in Europe, with countries like Germany and the UK seeing similar figures. However, it's important to note that Germany had a dismal 1.9% and the UK had 3.2%.
Across the Atlantic, Africa showed a slightly more encouraging picture. By August 2025, startups with a female founder received 10% of the total venture capital, although the absolute dollars are small. Kenya, in particular, stood out with 7.9% of venture capital dollars going to women-only teams, a relatively higher percentage compared to Europe or the US.
Asia, too, presented a mixed picture. China, boosted by state-backed diversity programs, reached 3.5% of its startup funding for women-only teams in 2024. India's booming startup scene raised $12.5 billion in 2024, but women-only teams saw only 2.6% of that. Singapore and Indonesia landed at 3.2% and 2.8% respectively of their startup funding for women-only teams in the same year.
Latin America showed a promising trend, with countries like Colombia (5.7%) and Mexico (4.5%) directing a significant portion of their startup funding to women-only teams in 2024. In 2024, startups in Latin America raised $3.6 billion across 694 deals.
However, the Middle East and North Africa lagged behind, with women securing barely 1.2% of total VC in 2024.
PitchBook data shows a promising correlation: firms with at least 30% female partners invest 4.7× more in women-led startups. This suggests that increasing gender diversity in venture capital firms could potentially lead to more funding for women-led startups.
In relative terms, cities like Nairobi, Bogota, and Mexico City offer a slightly fairer chance for women to raise funds compared to mature markets like the US and Europe. This underscores the need for a more inclusive investment environment in these regions.
While the global picture presents a challenging landscape for women-led startups, it's clear that progress is being made. As more focus is placed on diversity and inclusion in the venture capital industry, we can hope to see these figures improve in the future.
