Invest Europe and EIF report: How gender and geography shape Europe’s VC ecosystem
A new report by Invest Europe and the European Investment Fund (EIF) sheds light on the intricate workings of Europe's venture capital (VC) ecosystem, revealing key patterns in cross-border funding and the impact of gender and geography on startup success. The "VC Factor: Skills Edition" highlights how interconnected regional VC hubs, or "clans," are influencing investment flows and opportunities for entrepreneurs. This research is crucial for understanding the evolving landscape of European tech investment and for developing strategies to foster greater inclusivity. The report identifies distinct VC clans across Europe, including Benelux, the British Isles, Central and Eastern Europe, DACH, France, the Iberian Peninsula, Italy/Malta, and the Nordics/Baltics. While cross-border investment has significantly increased, with 43% of VC investment crossing clan boundaries in 2021, national and regional patterns persist. The British Isles emerged as the most connected hub, while regions like the Iberian Peninsula and Italy/Malta show higher levels of intra-regional investment, underscoring the ongoing development of a more integrated, yet still regionally defined, European VC market. Furthermore, the analysis points to a concerning disparity regarding gender in venture capital. While women founders demonstrate high educational attainment and increasing representation in entrepreneurship, they consistently receive less funding than their male counterparts. Startups with predominantly female founding teams secure, on average, €700,000 less per investment, a gap that cannot be fully explained by team size or funding stage, suggesting underlying structural imbalances favoring male-led ventures.
Curated and translated by Europe Digital for our multilingual European audience.
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