Women Receive Venture Investment at Men's Rate

Photo via historic.brssels at Flickr

RedTracker| The Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire reports that although Q1,2 venture capital investment dollars decreased by 27% over Q1,2 2008, the number of entrepreneurial ventures that received angel funding grew by 6%.

The decline in venture investment dollars was driven by the size of average deal. Angels have decreased their appetite for seed and start-up stage investigating, with 27% of Q1,2 2009 angel investments in the seed and start-up, a decrease of 10% over Q1,2 2008, which is the smallest percentage in seed and start-up investing with 58% of investments in this stage.

Investors are accepting an average yield rate of 9%, from a 2005 yield rate of 23%, reflecting this preference for more secure investments.

Women angels represented 15% of the angel market in Q1,2. Women-owned ventures accounted for 22% of the entrepreneurs seeking angel capital and 6% of these women received funding. This investment success rate of 6% is average for men as well. Women’s underfunding in venture capital can be attributed to their underrepresentation in seeking investment.