9 DECEMBER2020the best of their prowess in various segments. The country is now witnessing that women in India are rich of talent, but what they really need is a platform for the talent to showcase along with just a little push and opportunity to flourish and excel in the society. Here is where the role or Venture Capitalist (VC) comes into the light.As per the Sixth Economic Census, conducted in 2014 by the Indian government, only 14 percent of Indian women own or run businesses in India. Another report by Trifecta Capital titled `Human Capital In The New Economy ­ Benchmarks And Best Practices 2019' noted that women make up for only 22 percent of the total workforce in Indian startups, accounting for just one-fifth of the workforce. The report also added that gender diversity tends to slightly improve from Series A stage to Series B. There are reports that also inclines towards women entrepreneurship, such as according to research (worldwide) performed by First Round Capital, founding teams that include men and women produce dramatically stronger valuation growth than all-male founding teams. Also, a study published in Venture Capital Journal reveals that startups founded by all-male teams are four times more likely to receive funding from venture capital funds as compared with female founders. The numbers don't lie, but as the scenarios are changing, a new hope has taken birth in the business eco-system. Now new-age VCs are surging ahead with a commitment of building a system that is more supportive of businesses run by women.Though the startups led by women aren't in the majority and the entrepreneur space is largely dominated by men in India. Talk of equality is mostly lip service, however, there are still few VCs that are willing to take a chance by keeping faith on the women leaders. These five VCs should be on every women founder's radar.KALAARI CAPITAL: The firm is an early-stage, technology-focused venture capital firm with $650 Mn in assets. Not content with being one of the first homegrown VC firms in India with a steadily growing list of startups in its portfolio, Kalaari launched Kstart, a seed fund initiative, in 2016. Kstart focuses solely on seed-stage funding and differs from other funds in that it doesn't set a valuation at the time a startup is raising funds from it. It does so in the subsequent rounds of funding, and the valuation is set by external investors. Founded by a true leader Vani Kola, Kalaari Capital is a leading VC that strives hard to help founders succeed and flourish in the business world. Vani is referred to as The Mother of Venture Capitalism in India, and there is a reason behind it. As Managing Director at Kalaari Capital, over the years, she has built a reputation for picking the best young minds and mentoring them to build successful enterprises, some prime examples being Myntra, Urban Ladder, Zivame, Power2SME, YourStory, and Bluestone, among others.LETSVENTURE: Founded in 2013, LetsVenture enables startups and investors to discover and connect with each other. There are 12000+ startups and 2200+ investors on the platform. LetsVenture works with startups and investors on discovery, syndication and closure. This involves managing due diligence and paperwork closure. LetsVenture has enabled more than 100 startups to raise over $40mn. Founded by Shanti Mohan LetsVenture is an online platform that connects Indian startups with angel investors. The Bengaluru-based platform, which counts Testbook, DailyNinja, Wishberry, MyUpchar, and Ketto as part of its portfolio, has 3,700 members. Since its inception in 2013, LetsVenture has facilitated over $100 million in investments. LetsVenture's 195 startup-strong portfolios are now valued at $1.07 billion (as of November 2019), has raised over $150 million in funding.QUALCOMM VENTURES INDIA: Qualcomm Ventures founded in the year 2000 is the $1 billion venture capital arm of global tech giant Qualcomm, and the arm is highly optimistic on India's technology-driven startup ecosystem. The firm aims to help connect entrepreneurs to the resources, relationships and deep industry expertise they need to succeed in the entrepreneur journey. The THERE ARE REPORTS THAT ALSO INCLINES TOWARDSWOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP, SUCH AS ACCORDING TO RESEARCH (WORLDWIDE) PERFORMED BY FIRST ROUND CAPITAL
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