Women Who Tech launches competition for women startup founders

Women Who Tech has announced the launch of Women Startup Challenge: Emerging Tech, a pitch competition to showcase top early-stage women-led technology startups focused on Augmented Reality, Blockchain, IoT, Space and Robotics, Transportation, Biotech, Virtual Reality, Energy, and Agriculture tech. Aimed at closing the gender gap in the tech sector, the startup challenge will feature 10 finalists pitching their emerging tech ventures before a panel of prominent investors including Nisha Dua, Partner at AOL’s BBG Ventures, Rebecca Kaden, Partner at Union Square Ventures, and Hoolie Tejwani, Vice President at Obvious Ventures. The Women Startup Challenge will take place at Google in New York City, March  2018.

In 2016 women entrepreneurs secured $1.48 billion in funding, a mere 2.5 percent of the amount invested in male-led ventures, according to venture capital database PitchBook. “Not only do we need women supporting women within tech and startup sectors, but we need the investor community to help fund women-led startups and address this funding gap,” said Kaden, of Union Square Ventures.

The Women Startup Challenge series has showcased 52 of the most innovative early-stage women-led startups, helping draw global attention to the significant gender bias in venture capital funding and providing tech company leaders and investors with direct access to the best early-stage women-led startups.

“Emerging tech is a trillion+ dollar industry. As the world around us becomes more automated, we need diverse perspectives building and launching products,” said Allyson Kapin, founder of Women Who Tech. “This innovation is changing the nature of business, society, and government. It is important that the people driving this change are as representative of our society as possible; our future literally depends on it.”