EIT Community boosts women investors in Europe with new initiative

• Supernovas WIN (Women Investment Network) is the latest addition to the Supernovas programme promoted by EIT to attract more women to the innovation and entrepreneurship sector.
• The new activity will include different proposals such as training, networking opportunities and investment forums in startups founded or led by women.
• The first of these will take place on 21 June, will deal with agri-food and health, the startups have already been selected, and the registration process for investors is open.

In Europe, the presence of women investors in start-ups is still low, both in venture capital funds and among business angels. This is one of the reasons why startups led by women or mixed teams attract less funding than those led by men. In order to reverse this situation, the Women Investment Network (WIN), an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), the largest innovation system on the continent, has been created. Specifically, it will seek to increase the presence of women and strengthen their role in the world of investment in entrepreneurial projects, particularly those founded or led by women.

This initiative is part of the EIT Community's Supernovas programme, which focuses on increasing the presence of women in the European entrepreneurial ecosystem, and is aimed at new and experienced investors with three value propositions. The first of these, 'WIN Investment Forums', consists of three meetings where women investors will have the opportunity to learn about investment opportunities in startups led by other women. Each forum will address a different sector; the first one will be promoted by the European consortium EIT Food and will focus on 'Agri-food and health', in particular sustainable agriculture and food, alternative proteins, food waste reduction, traceability, food as medicine and health. The meeting, which will be held in an online format, will take place on 21 June. Investors wishing to participate will have until 20 June to register on the Supernovas website. WIN will also offer a series of online training courses. Through the 'WIN Investment Academy', it will focus on two types of women investors. Firstly, there will be courses for women working in private equity at both junior (analysts with up to 3 years' experience) and senior levels. There will also be specific training for women 'business angels', both those who want to start in this business and those who already have experience. The first activity (women in junior positions in venture capital) will start on 27 June; the dates, deadline and registration process for each activity can be found on the Supernovas WIN website.

And finally, 'WIN Networking': This is a community where women investors from all over Europe will be able to network, learn together and from each other, co-invest and look for new types of collaboration.
In the words of Amparo San José, Programme Manager of the Supernovas Project, "this new activity seeks to act specifically in the training and mentoring of women interested in the investment sector. We believe that there is a potential space for women who want to promote and bet on innovation projects and knowing where and how to do it is essential".