WA4E - Women Business Angels for Europe's Entrepreneurs

Unlocking female angel investment and access to risk capital for women entrepreneurs
 

The WA4E programme has delivered impressive results over the past two years, meeting great expectations for action on the ground to stimulate women angel investing. Our actions filled a gap detrimental to the financing of the European start-up economy, and women entrepreneurs.

With the lead of UKBAA, we also created a bespoke WA4E research study. We explored obstacles and motivation factors for women to become angel investors. The paper has shown to be crucial ammunition to raise awareness among women that they too can become an angel, and crucially, demystifying the investment process: what does angel investing really entail?
 
Concrete outcomes – key figures:
 

• 20+ million € generated in angel financing by women (10 times the initial target)

• 115 projects financed (4 times the target)

• Over 500 WBA trained off line, 267 accessing on line training material (double the targets)

•  279 WBAs mentored (more than twice the target)

• 1436 WBAs attending 74 pitching events (again, above target)

• Increased participation of women angels in networks involved: numbers at least doubled in each of the (mixed) partners’ networks; the net increase in the women only network is 12%.  

We want to thank all our consortium partners and high level advisory board members for creating this success over the last two years. Furthermore, on behalf of the consortium, we want to thank DG GROW for supporting this important initiative.