In 2023, European VC deal value and deal count generated by female-founded companies reached a record high, with their proportion of total deal value growing by 36% compared to 2022. While female-founded European startups represented a growing proportion of total venture deals in the past decade, our data shows that there is still progress to be made.
In this webinar, a panel of expert speakers shared insights on key findings from our inaugural European edition of the All In report, sponsored by UBS Wealth Management, Shoosmiths, and Enterprise Ireland. The discussion analyzed the current landscape for European female entrepreneurs, focusing on how female founders have fared in these challenging times.
To download the presentation slides and watch the recording, please fill out the form.
Key topics
- Activity for female-founded companies followed a similar trend compared to the broader VC environment in 2023, declining for the second year in a row but remaining elevated when compared to the past decade.
- In 2023, women represented 15% of all European decision-makers in VC firms with $25M in AUM or more.
- All-female founding teams saw slight growth in total deal value closed in 2023 at €926 million, but deal count dropped by 31% in the same period.
Related reports
2023 European All In: Female Founders in the VC Ecosystem
2023 US All In: Female Founders in the VC Ecosystem
-
Annemarie Donegan is a Senior Research Analyst at PitchBook, where she produces custom research reports for institutional clients across private asset classes, industries, and global regions. Her work spans a broad range of sectors, including financial services, industrials, and life sciences. She is also the author of PitchBook’s All In: Women in VC report series. Prior to joining PitchBook, Annemarie was a senior associate at Silicon Valley Bank, where she focused on commercial banking solutions for venture-backed companies. Annemarie holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Stonehill College and is based in PitchBook’s Seattle office.
-
Emma Wheeler is head of women’s wealth at UBS Global Wealth Management. This global program has focused on supporting women as investors since 2017. Emma also launched the 2021 UBS Female Founders program, an award and accelerator program to support early-stage female founders with investor readiness and network building. She is a graduate of London University. Before joining UBS, Emma spent 15 years as a communications strategist with global law firms in the world of private wealth.
-
Helen Burnell is a partner at Shoosmiths, specialising in venture capital, growth capital and infrastructure investments—advising both institutions, companies and founders on start-up through funding rounds and M&A activity. Helen also leads Shoosmiths’ spHERe initiative—a network open to women and men, which supports female founders and venture capitalists within the VC space.
-
Jenny Melia is the executive director of Regions & Local Enterprise, Food & Sustainability and Industrial, Life Sciences & Construction at Enterprise Ireland. Jenny has a strong track record in leadership roles within the organisation. She is passionate about helping Irish companies innovate and grow and supporting Ireland’s entrepreneurs to achieve their ambitions. She joined the Research and Innovation Division as a commercialisation specialist in 1996, managing Enterprise Ireland’s national research and technology programmes between industry and third-level research institutes. As the Irish liaison for EU nanotech and advanced materials funding programmes, Jenny was appointed by the EU Commissioner to their high-level advisory group. She has since held several senior roles within the organisation across various sectors, led the High Potential Start-Up (HPSU) team, and was divisional manager for Technology and Services. She graduated from UCD with a BSc and PhD in Chemistry.
