The innovative and technological ecosystem in Valencia is the third hub in Spain with the highest number of startups founded by women, according to the study ‘The role of women entrepreneurs in the startup ecosystem’ recently published by El Referente.

“This is a new success for entrepreneurship in Valencia, already consolidated as the third national ecosystem in terms of investment volume, number of startups, or number of scale-ups, among other noteworthy metrics. Looking ahead, we are getting closer to Madrid and Barcelona and further away from the next cities in the national entrepreneurship ranking“, explained Nacho Mas, CEO of Startup Valencia, in conversation with El Español about our ecosystem’s aspirations for 2023.

According to the mentioned report, in the Valencian Community there are 127 startups founded by women entrepreneurs, compared to 342 in Catalonia or 318 in the Community of Madrid. Behind them, Andalusia has 112 female founders of startups.

The milestone is even greater considering that these data are by autonomous communities. Thus, out of the top four in the ranking, the Valencian Community would have the highest percentage of female entrepreneurs relative to the total population of the region, which is slightly above 5 million inhabitants compared to Andalusia’s 8.5 million or Catalonia and Madrid’s nearly 8 and 7 million respectively.

Overall, the study reflects a significant increase in the number of companies founded by women at a national level, from 699 to 1,130 in just one year.

 

What do women start businesses in?

There is a greater presence of startups founded by women entrepreneurs in sectors such as Health, Biotechnology, Sustainability, and Education. If we add other roles like female investors to the equation of ‘founders’, we can incorporate verticals such as Fintech or Artificial Intelligence into the sectors with a higher female presence within the startup world. This data clearly shows a positive trend considering that deep tech has traditionally been a field with overwhelming male presence.

Another clearly rising trend is the wide presence of female investors and executives in innovation departments of companies, as there are already more than a hundred business angels and many others in fund management, venture builders, or corporate innovation departments.

A good example of this is some of the most prominent founders and investors in the Valencian startup ecosystem:

 

 

How to encourage more women entrepreneurs?

Giving visibility to all of them is essential in order to establish role models that serve as inspiration for more women to take the leap into entrepreneurship, which is already a challenge in itself.

“It is difficult to aspire to be something that you have rarely seen“, said Sofía Benjumea (Google for Startups) in an interview conducted by Startup Valencia. “The more women there are leading their own companies or in executive positions, the more women will say to themselves ‘if she can do it, I can too’ and they will be the role models for girls and young women today“.

“It serves so that future generations of executives, engineers, or entrepreneurs have it easier than we did and already have their own role models. They will be inspired to keep fighting to achieve their goals“, expressed Patricia Pastor (Next Tier Ventures) along the same lines.

In addition to visibility, the creation of exclusive spaces dedicated to female entrepreneurship helps make this issue the central topic of conversation and not just another item on the agenda. An initiative worth highlighting is Female Startup Leaders and their Female Founders Day or the podcast ‘Vostok 6’, which goes beyond strictly technological matters.

Finally, the network effect and community are accelerators of the entrepreneurial journey. Mentoring younger or less experienced entrepreneurs; connecting other women with an investor or business angel; in short, putting your network at the service of other founders will facilitate success and create a multiplier effect for those who come after.

 

In the agenda of major tech events

The role of women entrepreneurs in the startup world is a topic with its own presence at major tech events, sharing the agenda with other important issues and challenges of our time such as Artificial Intelligence or Sustainable Mobility.

This is precisely the case with VDS2023, which under the motto ‘Building the Good Future’ organized speeches, talks, debates, panels, and pitches about the role of women in the technology sector on October 26th and 27th.

Undoubtedly, the perfect occasion for Valencia to demonstrate its status as a leading ecosystem in startups founded by women.

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