• The Funding Gap for Female Founders Study

    Purpose: The Funding Gap for Female Founders Study is the first comprehensive study of its kind to examine the structural causes of the funding gap for female founders across the MENA region. Going beyond documenting the gap, the research aims to identify its root causes at every stage of the funding journey and translate findings into actionable recommendations for investors, founders, and policymakers. The insights will be derived from a broad engagement across the ecosystem with surveys and interviews with founders, investors, policymakers  and other key ecosystem stakeholders across selected geographies.

  • About You

  • Should you like to be contacted or further contribute, please share your contact information*
  • Format: (971) 00-0000000.
  • Please share your primary country of residence*
  • Please indicate your gender*
  • What is your Marital/Family Status?
  • What is your annual household income (USD, per year)?

  • About Your Startup

  • What sector does your startup operate in?*
  • What stage of maturity are you currently in?*
  • Age of lead founder
  • What is the academic background of the lead founder?

  • Founders Section: Funding History

  • Please consider your most recent funding round, what type of funding did you seek?*
  • Please consider your most recent funding round how many investors did you pitch to before closing?
  • Please consider your most recent funding round, in which year did it occur?
  • Please consider your most recent funding round, approximately what percentage of equity did you give up?
  • How long did it take to close your most recent funding round from first investor conversation to signed term sheet?
  • When you closed your most recent funding round, which of the following terms were requested by investors? Select all that apply
  • In the past, which stages did you seek equity funding for? (Check all that apply)*
  • Rows
  • Rows
  • What are the instruments you raised funding through? (Select all that apply)
  • Think of your entire funding journey to date, which stage did you find the most difficult to fund?*
  • Please consider your most recent funding round, how many investors did you approach before securing a pitch?
  • If you stopped seeking or never sought equity funding, what were the main reasons? (Select top 3 reasons that apply)*

  • Founders Section: Challenges & Barriers

  • Rows
  • At which stage of fundraising did you experience the greatest challenges?*

  • Founders Section: Actions

  • In your opinion, which of the following actions would most support you on your journey of funding? (Select top 3)*
  • Do you believe having a male co-founder impacted your ability to raise funding?

  • Investors Section: Funding History

  • How would you classify your fund?*
  • What is the size of your current fund?
  • What is the primary stage focus of your fund?
  • Approx. what % of your current portfolio has at least one female founder?*
  • In the last 12 months, what share of deals at pitch stage were female-founded?
  • Have you observed different approaches to pitching / positioning or quality for female founded startups? If yes, how?
  • Have you observed different trends in performance or growth between male- and female-founded companies in your portfolio?
  • How do you primarily source deals? (Select up to 2)
  • Does your fund track or set targets around the gender of the lead decision maker?

  • Investors Section: Challenges & Barriers

  • At which stage do female founders most commonly exit the funding pipeline?
  • What are the most significant barriers to growth-stage capital for female founders? (Select up to 3)*
  • In your experience, do male and female founders face different challenges during the fundraising process?
  • How would you describe the fundraising experience for female founders compared to male founders?

  • Investors Section: Actions

  • Which of the following actions would most meaningfully reduce the funding gap for female founders? Select top 3*
  • In your view, what are the most impactful actions organisation like yours can take to better support female founders? Select top 3
  • Should be Empty: