Why supporting female founders matters more than ever

In 2023, startups founded by women received 2% or less of venture capital (VC) funding in both Europe and the United States. This data from PitchBook can be discouraging for women striving to deliver impactful solutions to their communities and beyond. "Being a woman entrepreneur in FemTech is tough due to underfunding. We're currently witnessing more and more FemTech companies shutting down. There have been some successes of course, but these closures make you question things," notes Capucine Cogne (United Kingdom), co-founder of Understand Your Cycle, a platform that teaches everything about the menstrual cycle.

Raising funds is just one of the many challenges female founders face through their entrepreneurial journey. To smooth the path and continue encouraging women's entrepreneurship and autonomy/empowerment, there is a need for supportive programs. This is where the WomenEntrepreneurs4Good (WE4G) program steps in. Every year, this acceleration program, launched by the Women’s Forum for the Economy & Society in partnership with HEC Paris Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute, Bank of America Business and Bredin Prat, offers comprehensive support to women entrepreneurs in the green transition. Startup sprint, business coaching, visibility, access to resources, a powerful network of entrepreneurs and investors, networking opportunities… The key aim is to help them structure their project and master their pitch to secure the funding they deserve.

The bigger the challenge, the more meaningful the support

The WE4G 2024 cohort brought together over 100 women entrepreneurs from 45 countries, each offering unique solutions to address environmental and social challenges. According to Inge Kerkloh-Devif, Senior Executive Director of the HEC Paris Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute, “supporting women entrepreneurs is crucial for driving inclusive economic growth, promoting social equity, and diversifying innovation.”

Among the 10 WE4G program winners, projects spanned a range of areas, including women's health, healthy eating, women's empowerment in STEM, and the circular economy within the wine, fashion, and energy industries.

Diversity in both profiles and solutions truly defines each WE4G cohort, yet a common denominator persists: their challenges. "Despite coming from very different cultures, it was fascinating to see that we faced similar challenges. Having complementary perspectives and a truly international viewpoint was incredibly enriching," recalls Justine Pelisson, founder of WIP (Women in Progress), a platform dedicated to empowering female engineers.

Limiting beliefs

Self-limitation is a common struggle. "Legitimacy is the biggest barrier for me," admits Justine Pélisson. "As a young solo female entrepreneur, I often find it hard to advocate for my project because I place personal barriers in my way, questioning my own legitimacy to drive it forward." These limiting beliefs resonate with Célia Roussin (France), the founder of Pépite Raisin, who seeks to enhance the wine industry’s environmental performance through grape circularity. Célia acknowledges the self-imposed limitations many entrepreneurs face but chooses to channel her energy into joy rather than stress and fear. "It's an ongoing dialogue with myself about what feels right and how to find joy in my pursuits," she says. Her advice is to avoid getting caught up in the narrative of fear that leads to frustration, and instead to make entrepreneurship a genuine source of joy.

Being taken seriously: both personally and in regard to the topic at hand

Addressing women-related topics presents additional challenges for female founders. Elsie Amoako, founder of Mino Care—a holistic virtual perinatal healthcare center in Canada—comments, "Convincing others to take women's health seriously can be difficult, but I believe the world is changing. By strategically placing myself in supportive environments and making the right connections, I aim to create more opportunities and stay positive." 

Capucine Cogne, founder of Understand Your Cycle, shares her experience with tackling taboo subjects in women's health:

Before discussing the business, I have to prove the topic deserves attention, which requires a tremendous amount of time and energy.

Similarly, Justine Pélisson notes, "Inclusion and diversity topics, particularly concerning women in engineering, are often seen as 'nice to have' rather than 'must have,' making it difficult to communicate the urgent need for action and recruitment." However, mindsets are gradually shifting.

Accessing information to structure a project

For many entrepreneurs, passion and vision are the driving forces behind their projects. However, access to fundamental information can vary greatly depending on your background and country of residence. Ruti Ejangue from Cameroon, founder of Yummy Greens, a delivery service of healthy food in West and Central Africa, bootstrapped her business for a long time. "When I started my business, I lacked knowledge about business plans and financial projections," she recalls. "I was thrilled to join an incubator in Boston and then WE4G, where mentorship and guidance helped me learn how to operate and commercialize my business effectively."

Building a successful team 

As with any startup venture, the team is often the key determinant of the project's success or failure. For Paula Menéndez Pausa (France), founder of Oly—a B2B SaaS platform committed to circular fashion—finding talented engineers committed to advancing the circular economy has been the biggest challenge. "I feel confident with the team we have now," she emphasizes.

Mathilde Janicot, co-founder of Revolty, which democratizes residential storage with sustainable & profitable batteries, admits that “working on an industrial project with two other young students, and evolving in a rather male world can be challenging.” That’s why with her team, she keeps on developing her skills and working on Revolty’s value proposition to turn it into a success.

Removing or at least reducing these barriers is what WE4G does. How? By helping these women structure their project, guide them through mentoring and prepare them for raising money thanks to the final pitch contest at the Women’s Forum Global Meeting.

From local solutions to global exposure

The annual Women’s Forum Global Meeting, recently held at the Maison de la Chimie in Paris, marked the conclusion of the WomenEntrepreneurs4Good program. Out of 10 laureates of the program, eight pitched their solutions in front of a grand jury and an audience of leaders, entrepreneurs and investors. We witnessed these incredible women pitch with passion, and were curious to discover the biggest challenge they faced as a woman entrepreneur.

Each woman paused to think—not because they struggled to find a challenge, but because, as they put it, "There are so many, I need to think of the biggest one." Nevertheless, tackling these hurdles sets the stage for their exceptional journeys, demonstrating that women have the power to transform each fear and challenge into a strength that fuels growth and resilience. 

WomenEntrepreneurs4Good: To every challenge a solution 

The WE4G program has been designed to tackle the primary obstacles faced during the acceleration stage, ensuring that women are fully prepared to pitch their solutions and secure funding.

Understanding your market

In the initial stage of the program, over 100+ women entrepreneurs receive support through market and customer research coaching along with business model assistance, during an intensive three-day Startup Sprint. For Georgina Yaa Kwartemaa Boamah (Ghana), founder of Akofresh, a green cold chain enterprise, this phase was key since she hadn't conducted specific assessments of customer needs. "We had only evaluated the problem, so we had to 'rewind' and interview each potential customer to determine precisely what they wanted as a solution," she points out.

Accessing a variety of experts

Following the Startup Sprint, 10 finalists are chosen to attend the Incubateur HEC Paris online program for four months. The incubator provides business coaching, technical support, and professional networking opportunities. Participants gain access to over 1,000 business experts across various fields, including Marketing, Finance, Strategy, Business Development, IT, HR, and Legal. These resources empower women entrepreneurs to consolidate and accelerate their projects. Capucine Cogne reflects, "If I hadn't participated in the program, I wouldn't have achieved stability in the model of ‘Understand Your Cycle’, nor would I have been able to test different business models as I did in the past few months."

One-to-one Mentoring and Coaching 

Through the program's partners Bank of America Business and Bredin Prat, the 10 finalists received personalized advice on legal issues and more. Over a four-month period, they participated in 8 individualized coaching sessions with a business coach. This one-on-one mentoring helped them overcome significant barriers. Elsie Amoako, founder of Mino Care, admits that the program helped her conquer her fear of scaling the company and accepting money. 

It boosted my confidence and shifted my focus to the value of my work. 

She recalls a memorable quote from her mentor: "Think of all these 'stupid' guys taking money for unimportant things; you're actually saving lives, so if someone writes you a check, take it!"

Ruti Ejangue notes that "talking to founders and various coaches from Bank of America who've helped people raise funding was priceless." This experience taught her how to understand the fundraising process, negotiate effectively, prepare the right type of pitch deck, and deliver a compelling pitch—skills she practiced at the program's conclusion.

Perfecting pitching skills

To give women greater exposure, the 10 finalists (eight managed to travel to Paris) were offered the opportunity to pitch in front of a wide audience and a Grand Jury, including:

• Leila Grison, Women’s Forum Director and DE&I Director at Publicis France
• Adeline DeJaeghere, Managing Director at Bank of America Merril Lynch
• Clémence Fallet, Associate at Bredin Prat
• Inge Kerkloh-Devif, Senior Executive Director of the HEC Paris Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute
• Juliette Mauro, President & Co-founder of FemTech School
• Alexia Reiss, Executive Director at SISTA 

Every year, Vanessa Holtz, CEO of Bank of America Securities Europe SA Country Executive France, witnesses these women pitch with amazement: "I am always impressed by the creativity, tenacity and energy of the women entrepreneurs of the WE4G program who work to create sustainable solutions for a better future. Supporting women entrepreneurs and enabling them to make their projects a reality is fundamental to creating diverse perspectives, developing new ideas, creating jobs and promoting equitable growth. At Bank of America we are proud to partner with HEC Paris to deliver this programme, helping more entrepreneurs to develop the skills to grow their business."

Emma Cochrane, Director of Strategic Projects at HEC Paris Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute, explains why this milestone is key in their entrepreneurial journey. “The WE4G pitch day at the Women’s Forum marks a proud moment for the women entrepreneurs we’ve supported over the last six months, showcasing the incredible progress they've made on their journeys. Equipped with the tools to raise funds and grow their businesses, they are now poised to create meaningful impact in their respective countries.”

For this 2024 edition, three prizes were awarded:

• Jury Prize: Mathilde Janicot with Revolty
• Audience Prize: Justine Pélisson with Women In Progress
• Women’s Health Special Prize: MinoCare
   

Congratulations to the WE4G laureates, who are a true source of inspiration, as Inge Kerkloh-Devif points out: "This initiative is also about encouraging future generations: role models and mentors play a huge role in inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs, especially in traditionally male-dominated industries.”

Find out more about the WE4G program

About HEC Paris Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute

The institute supports entrepreneurs from all walks of life. Through our Incubation & Acceleration, Deeptech, and Social Entrepreneurship centers, we assist students with innovative ideas, budding startups, rapidly scaling SMEs, transforming large enterprises, and social or environmental entrepreneurs to grow efficiently and with impact. Here, the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem of HEC Paris comes together to help you Make it Happen, Make it Big.