A gender-smart simulator to reduce the financing gap for female entrepreneurs in emerging markets

Accessing capital for entrepreneurs in emerging markets can be a challenging process; however, for female entrepreneurs, this can often be even more difficult due to predispositions of gender bias, cultural norms, and other stereotypes commonly held by society. Given that funding is often necessary for founders to be able to scale their ventures, accelerators play an essential role in helping entrepreneurs secure it. However, the disparity between the funding that male entrepreneurs are able to secure as compared to female entrepreneurs is significant, even after enrolling in accelerators. Although these accelerators usually provide female entrepreneurs with the financial skills needed to navigate the fundraising process, they need to not only focus on investment readiness but also to better equip them with the necessary tools to mitigate investor bias. This would enable accelerators to better serve female founders in the unique challenges that only they face. This paper details MIT D-Lab’s collaboration with Strategy Tools to design the first gender-smart investment readiness tool designed to help female entrepreneurs navigate the complex challenges of fundraising for equity.