What Do Women-Centric Startups Need To Scale? It Takes More Than Just Capital

After decades of funding drought for women entrepreneurs, a reality that persists despite the headlines, we have done a reasonable job identifying the problem. Women founders capture less than 2% of venture capital globally. But as investors, we need to move past diagnosis and ask the harder question: what will actually accelerate women-centric businesses from first check to sustainable scale?
The answer that can truly accelerate this, in addition to the larger allocations, is building infrastructure around this limited capital allocation.

The Real Barriers to Growth

In my years of deploying capital and sitting on boards, I have watched talented women founders navigate obstacles that have nothing to do with their business fundamentals. These are not peripheral challenges; they are structural constraints that directly impact execution velocity and market penetration.

Women founders often manage dual mandates that their male counterparts simply do not face. Family expectations do not disappear when you are building a company. This is not about work-life balance; it is about available operational capacity during the critical 18 to 36 months when startups need relentless focus. Time and energy are finite resources. When structural expectations drain both, execution suffers.

Deals happen in networks. Introductions matter. Relationships drive opportunities. The problem is that the most valuable networks were built without women at the table. While male founders tap alumni networks, investor dinners, and informal advisory relationships for introductions and strategic guidance, women founders are solving these problems independently. This is not inefficiency; it is a competitive disadvantage that compounds over time.

Why This Matters to Returns

I have seen companies with superior products struggle to crack enterprise accounts or secure supply chain partnerships. The issue is not product-market fit. It is perception. In sectors where women founders are unexpected, innovations get categorized as interesting rather than mission-critical. Procurement cycles extend, pilots stall, and even with market-ready solutions, visibility remains elusive.

As fund managers, we should care about this for one simple reason: returns. Several studies and empirical data have shown that women-founded startups generate more revenue per dollar invested than male-founded companies. This is not impact investing with concessionary returns. This is the alpha that most of the market is leaving on the table.

When we deploy capital without addressing structural barriers, we are not just missing an opportunity. We are accepting sub-optimal portfolio construction. Women-led startups are not a niche allocation or ESG box-check. They are an underutilised source of outsized returns.

The Fundraising Reality and the Need for Ecosystem Support

Even women-led funds face headwinds. When raising capital, I have encountered scepticism that male general partners rarely see. Limited partners sometimes view a focus on gender equity as an outcome of our investments as impact-first rather than returns-focused, despite evidence showing otherwise. This creates a compounding problem: women-centric companies need capital while funds specifically designed to back them struggle to raise from institutional investors.

Policy frameworks exist to support women entrepreneurs, but implementation remains fragmented. The infrastructure to scale women-led and women-centric businesses requires more than good intentions. It requires systematic execution.

As investors, we need to think beyond the initial investment. Capital is table stakes. Sustainable value creation requires a comprehensive support infrastructure.

Building Investable Ecosystems

Portfolio support cannot be optional. Women founders need structured access to operators who have scaled companies, negotiated enterprise contracts, and navigated board dynamics. This means formal mentorship programs connecting founders with executives who provide strategic guidance, operational expertise, and meaningful introductions. The informal knowledge transfer that happens naturally in established networks needs to be systematised.

Market access drives revenue. Corporations and procurement programs should actively integrate women-led vendors into supply chains through transparent criteria and accountable processes. For investors, this means leveraging limited partner relationships to create pipeline opportunities for portfolio companies. Visibility in mainstream markets is not a nice-to-have; it is essential for growth capital deployment.

Peer networks matter. Communities where women entrepreneurs share operational insights, introduce co-investors, and provide mutual support create value beyond individual mentorship. These networks reduce isolation, accelerate problem-solving, and improve decision quality.

Governments and institutions control significant capital. Incentivising funds to deploy capital into women-led startups, providing tax advantages for inclusive supply chains, and creating platforms for enterprise exposure can reshape market dynamics. For the investment community, engaging with policymakers on implementation matters as much as advocating for policy.

Measuring Real Success and the Investment Opportunity

Success is not measured by how many women-led startups raise seed rounds. It is measured by Series B conversion rates, exit valuations, and wealth creation. We need companies that scale sustainably, generate institutional returns, and command market-rate valuations, not companies that get funded once and struggle to find follow-on capital.

The question is not whether women can build successful companies. Market data has already answered that. The question is whether we are building the infrastructure to support them. When we deploy capital alongside mentorship, market access, and network support, we are not just backing individual companies. We are catalysing an ecosystem that transforms not just their industries but the entire economic landscape.

Authored by Seema Chaturvedi, Founder & Managing Partner, AWE Funds | Views expressed by the author are their own.