Empowering Women Entrepreneurs: Interventions to Increase Access to Funding

Accessing funding is a pivotal milestone for entrepreneurs, significantly shaping the survival and growth of their businesses. However, women entrepreneurs face greater challenges than their male counterparts in securing funding, particularly from traditional financial institutions (e.g., banks). These disparities stem from systemic inequalities and biases on both the supply and demand sides of funding, perpetuating a persistent funding gap for women. This project seeks to identify and test interventions to reduce this gap by addressing three critical areas: (i) women entrepreneurs’ reluctance to apply for funding from traditional organizations; (ii) decision- making criteria in funding evaluations; and (iii) accountability mechanisms for funding decision-makers. In doing so, we aim to provide actionable strategies for making traditional funding channels more accessible and equitable for women entrepreneurs, and identify valuable interventions with the potential to scale through a randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving women entrepreneurs and traditional funding organizations. The outcomes of this research will offer practical insights for financial institutions, policymakers, and entrepreneurial support organizations, contributing to a more inclusive funding ecosystem that better supports the ambitions and potential of women entrepreneurs.

Key facts

Principal Investigator: Rafael Wilms
Email: [email protected]
Affiliation: Assistant Professor, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Co-Investigators: Francesca Bacco, [email protected]; Kathleen Stephenson, [email protected]; Christina Rott [email protected]