Invest New Zealand's general manager said conditions had improved for women in trade and businesses, but there was still work to do. Photo: 123rf
Female entrepreneurs heading up businesses ranging from an AI mental health platform to a carbon-neutral concrete solution have had a chance to pitch to investors at the so-called gateway to South East Asia.
The New Zealand Trade and Enterprise event in Singapore, which aimed to increase the number of female-led businesses attracting investment, pulled in more than 120 global investors last week.
Angel Association research showed just 18 percent of angel investment in New Zealand went towards female-founded ventures.
Angel investment is when private investors financed small businesses with their own net worth, unlike a venture capital firm, in exchange for equity.
Globally, research reported by Harvard Business Review showed female-led businesses received just 2.3 percent of venture capital funding in 2020.
Invest New Zealand, the global investment arm of New Zealand Trade & Enterprise, organised the Singapore event to platform seven wāhine entrepreneurs and their businesses.
General manager Dylan Lawrence said conditions had improved for women in trade and businesses, but there was still work to do.
"There's still significant challenges that remain when it comes to a woman-led business accessing capital and also to get resources to be able to launch and scale their businesses," he said.
"Particularly financial support and the opportunities for growth can be quite a large barrier preventing them from realising the businesses' full potential, so for us, it's about giving them a platform to be able to tell their story and be able to do it in a way that resonates in this part of the world."
Lawrence said the event had been a huge success for the female entrepreneurs, who spent the days after presenting to the summit in meetings with potential investors.
New Zealand business leader Suse Reynolds said female-led businesses were worth prioritising, as research showed they outperformed their male counterparts.
"A BCG study found that female-led businesses generated 12 percent higher revenues annually, using an average of a third less capital than male-led start-ups," she said.
"Per dollar of investment, start-ups founded by women generated 78 cents, while male-founded start-ups generated 31 cents."
Reynolds said it proved that fostering a workplace culture of inclusivity and equality translated into strong financial returns.