By Laura Jones
“The deeper concern isn’t just that women receive only 2 percent of VC funding. It is that this 2 percent still sparks headlines, panels, and applause. We have normalised underrepresentation and started rewarding survival instead of scale.” — Linda Obi, entrepreneur and CEO of Zuri Circle
For a woman building a company, raising capital can feel like trying to enter a room where the door was never designed for her. The business may have customers, revenue, technology and a compelling growth story, yet the funding conversation can still end with one familiar question: Where is the capital?
Linda Obi’s observation captures an uncomfortable reality. Women are launching businesses at remarkable rates, yet their access to growth capital remains dramatically below their entrepreneurial potential. In 2024, companies founded solely by women received just 1 per cent of total US venture capital invested in venture-backed startups, according to PitchBook. In Europe, the figure was even lower at 0.5 per cent.
The problem is not a shortage of women building businesses. It is a shortage of capital reaching them at the scale required to grow.
That is why targeted funding windows matter.
The Funding Gap Is an Economic Problem
Women entrepreneurs are building companies across technology, healthcare, agriculture, education, fashion, finance, climate and the care economy. Yet many struggle to move from survival capital to growth capital.
The challenge is particularly significant in emerging markets. The African Development Bank estimates that women-owned and women-led businesses across Africa face a financing gap of approximately $49 billion. Its AFAWA initiative was created specifically to address this challenge.
The gap is not simply about fairness. It represents missed economic opportunity. When promising businesses cannot hire employees, purchase equipment, develop products or enter new markets because capital is unavailable, jobs and innovation are lost.
An expanding ecosystem of grants, accelerators, guarantees, concessional finance and gender-focused investment programmes is attempting to change that.
1. Cartier Women’s Initiative
The Cartier Women’s Initiative is one of the most prominent global programmes supporting women entrepreneurs building businesses with social or environmental impact.
Its regional and thematic awards have offered $100,000 for first-place winners, $60,000 for second place and $30,000 for third, alongside executive education, leadership development, mentoring and access to a global network. The programme covers regions including Africa, Europe, North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, and Asia.
Its Science & Technology Pioneer Award is particularly relevant to women developing technology and scientific innovations.
For founders planning ahead, however, timing matters: the application cycle for the 2027 edition has already closed. This is therefore an opportunity to prepare for the next cycle rather than an immediate application window.
2. We-Fi: Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative
The Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) is one of the most important funding ecosystems for women entrepreneurs in developing economies.
Rather than functioning solely as a direct grant portal, We-Fi works through multilateral development banks and financial institutions to expand women’s access to finance, markets, networks and business support.
Its programmes operate across 81 countries and have reached more than 620,000 women-owned and women-led businesses, facilitating billions of dollars in financing.
For founders, the lesson is important: sometimes the opportunity is not a direct application to We-Fi itself, but a bank, accelerator or financial institution participating in a We-Fi-supported programme.
3. AFAWA — A Major African Funding Gateway
For African women entrepreneurs, AFAWA—Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa—should be closely watched.
Led by the African Development Bank, AFAWA works with financial institutions to increase lending to women-owned and women-led SMEs. Its Guarantee for Growth mechanism helps reduce the risk for financial institutions lending to women, while the wider initiative combines finance with technical assistance and business development support.
AFAWA aims to unlock $5 billion in financing for women-owned and women-led businesses. By May 2025, it reported more than $2.5 billion approved and more than 24,000 women entrepreneurs financed and trained.
For African founders, AFAWA is not simply an award to watch. It is a financing ecosystem to understand and access through participating institutions.
4. Aurora Tech Award and Aurora Ventures
Technology founders in emerging markets should pay particular attention to Aurora.
The Aurora Tech Award supports women founders of technology startups in emerging markets through non-dilutive funding, investor introductions and mentorship. Recent awards have included $50,000 for first place, $30,000 for second and $20,000 for third.
Aurora Ventures also invests in women-founded and co-founded startups at pre-seed and seed stages across Africa, MENA and Latin America, with investment of up to $250,000.
The combination of award funding and potential investment makes Aurora particularly relevant for technology founders preparing to scale.
5. UBS Project Female Founder
For founders who need investor readiness as much as capital, UBS Project Female Founder offers another route.
The global programme helps majority women-owned and women-led companies prepare for fundraising through an accelerator, mentoring and investor-network opportunities.
The 2026 programme targeted companies beyond the idea stage that had raised up to $1 million and were seeking early-stage capital such as seed or Series A funding. The next cohort is scheduled to begin in April 2027, with applications expected from March 2027.
For founders, this makes the current period valuable for preparation: build traction, strengthen financials and become investment-ready before applications open.
6. Tory Burch Foundation Fellows Program
Not every female founder needs venture capital.
The Tory Burch Foundation Fellows Program supports women entrepreneurs through business education, coaching, community and access to capital. Its fellowship has included a $5,000 business-education grant and access to zero-interest loans through Kiva.
The 2026 application cycle opens September 22, 2026 and closes November 11. However, eligibility is limited to US-based businesses and qualifying US residents.
Its model is a reminder that founders should consider education, affordable loans and networks alongside traditional investment.
7. Astia
For women-led companies already demonstrating strong growth potential, Astia provides another route into venture capital.
Astia invests in high-growth companies with at least one woman in a significant equity and leadership position. Rather than operating as a conventional grant programme, it connects promising companies with experienced experts and investors.
With more than $65 million in assets under management and over 180 investments, Astia is particularly relevant to founders building scalable businesses in areas such as health, climate and technology.
Build a Funding Strategy, Not Just an Application
The biggest mistake founders can make is treating every funding opportunity as interchangeable.
An early-stage founder may need a grant or accelerator. A revenue-generating company may need working capital or a growth loan. A technology startup expanding internationally may need equity. A business with strong contracts but limited collateral may benefit from guarantee-backed financing.
The smartest founders therefore build a capital stack.
Prepare a clear business model. Document revenue and traction. Know precisely how much you need and what the money will achieve. Keep financial records organised and understand your ownership structure. Most importantly, build investor and programme relationships before the fundraising emergency arrives.
The Window Is Bigger Than the Grant
The global funding landscape is changing, but women founders cannot afford to simply wait for it to change.
Grants, accelerators, guarantees, bank financing, venture funds and investor-readiness programmes are creating multiple pathways into capital. The challenge is knowing which door to knock on, when to knock and what to bring with you.
For female founders, the strategy is clear: track opportunities, prepare early, diversify funding sources and build networks that create access to the next opportunity.
The funding gap is real. But so are the windows opening to close it.
The next generation of women founders should not merely be funded to survive.
They should be funded to scale, compete and build the companies that will shape the global economy.
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