Innvotec launches Female Ventures Fund to buck the 1% VC trend

by Startacus Admin

New investment fund launched by Innvotec to back female founded UK startups 

Good news to start the week with the announcement that Alternative Investment Fund Manager, Innvotec Limited (Innvotec), has launched its Female Ventures Fund (FVF) to invest exclusively in UK female founded or co-founded enterprises. Innvotec also aims to encourage more women to invest in start-ups and early stage businesses.

With less than 1% of VC investment going to all-female founded enterprises, the FVF aims to tackle this funding gap by focussing on carefully selected, early-stage businesses founded and co-founded by women.

Innvotec will provide initial capital, followed by further financial and advisory support to further development after the early stages and beyond.
The FVF was created with the express intention of also encouraging more female investors into the VC space. It is aimed at retail investors as well as high-net worth individuals.

The FVF Advisory Board is led by Lesley Gregory, an experienced corporate lawyer and the Chair of law firm, Memery Crystal. Lesley specialises in flotations and secondary capital raising, as well as advising growth companies on alternative forms of raising finance. She also founded Memery Crystal’s successful female entrepreneurs’ Women In Business network.

Lesley Gregory, Chair of the FVF’s Advisory Board, said:

“For every £1 of venture capital investment in the UK, all-female founder teams get less than 1p, while all-male founder teams get 89p. This statistic is not new and yet it is, nevertheless, staggering to me. What is more obvious is that it must be addressed. In my profession, I come across a wide range of female entrepreneurs who have solid business models and yet don’t receive the funding they need. We want to change that. The FVF model will provide, not only funding, but also, support in critical drivers of VC success – networking, negotiation, business planning and mentoring.”

“As well as investing in female-led businesses, the fund is designed to encourage more women to become investors and back female led businesses.”

The FVF portfolio will be sector agnostic and initially will be comprised of companies selected from Innvotec’s existing portfolio, which contains more than 35 female-founded companies.

The fund is managed by London-based Innvotec, an independent AIFM that already has 25% of its portfolio dedicated to female-led companies, more than double the industry average of 12%.

 

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Published on: 29th June 2020