Introduction to UBS Female Founders
Where ambition meets opportunity
At UBS, we believe female entrepreneurs should have equal access to funding and networks that can help their businesses thrive.
Our global UBS Female Founders initiative connects women with investors, expertise and strategic partners – turning great ideas into scalable success stories.
Why does it matter?
Backing women means backing growth. Because if women had the same access to capital as men, the global economy could expand by trillions of US dollars.2 Female-led start-ups also tend to deliver higher revenues per US dollar invested and reinvest more in their communities.3
That's why we're empowering women entrepreneurs, connecting investors with new opportunities, and supporting a more inclusive and prosperous future for all.
Closing the funding gap
Research shows that women founders attract only a small fraction of global start-up investment, despite running more than a third of all new ventures.1 It's a missed opportunity for both investors and economic growth and one which UBS is committed to addressing.
In our CIO research paper, The funding gap: Investors and female entrepreneurs, we explore the reasons behind this imbalance and identify practical ways to solve it. The message is simple: when women succeed, economies grow – and investors benefit too.
Our programs
Funding, networks and representation
Networking
Networks drive financing success. Strong VC networks are critical for deal sourcing, syndication, and decision-making.⁴ Men typically belong to male-dominated networks, while most non-investing women lack female peers or role models as angel investors.⁵ This gives male founders greater access to guidance, validation, and business insights.
The “like me” effect also influences funding, as most decision-makers are white males. Formal events and networking platforms can help women build relationships, gain mentorship, and improve funding outcomes. Education on financing and perception management is key—such as emphasizing growth during Q&A.
Accelerators matter—but impact differs. While accelerators provide mentorship, capital, and investor connections, research shows male-led startups raise up to 2.6 times more equity post-acceleration than female-led ones.⁶ Choosing the right program is essential; some focus on investment, others on networking or sales.
Leveling the playing field
Homophily shapes VC funding. People tend to favor those who resemble them—a dynamic evident in venture capital, where 70% of investors are white males.7 8 Women represent only 12% of decision-makers at US VC firms,9 and 15% of European general partners, controlling just 9% of assets.10
“Venture Capital is primarily a socially driven ecosystem. A majority of the people in VC went into the same set of schools, they move into the same circles—that is why it has been a fairly homogenous profile of VC investors and companies they invest in.” — Gail Wong, Gender Lens Investor (Singapore)
Inclusivity matters. VC firms with female partners are twice as likely to back women-led businesses and three times more likely to invest in female CEOs.11 Having a woman on the investment team increases the likelihood of funding companies with female executives by 40%.12 Yet bias persists—even female VCs tend to ask growth-focused questions to men and risk-focused ones to women.13 Debiasing processes, such as balanced questioning and blind pitch reviews, are essential.
Funds targeting female founders are growing but remain limited in scale and track record. A powerful catalyst would be Limited Partners prioritizing inclusivity—those writing the checks ultimately drive systemic change.
Finding alternative sources of funding
VC funding favors high-growth models. Traditionally, two of ten investments drive most returns; to achieve 20%, these must deliver 20–30x multiples.14 Not all companies fit this accelerated path, making VC unsuitable for many SMEs.
Female founders face structural hurdles. They often start with less capital and rely on costly, smaller funding sources.1 Women encounter greater barriers to debt financing and bank loans,15 leaning on family funding—which itself carries bias.1 Start-ups generally lack collateral and cash flow, but alternatives like advance customer payments or monetizing receivables can provide liquidity for steady growth.
Crowdfunding offers promise. Women often succeed in rewards-based campaigns, seen as more trustworthy and supported by female investors.4 7 However, equity crowdfunding mirrors VC dynamics, where women raise less than men—though ambitious targets narrow the gap.16 17Signaling growth and quality matters.18 High information asymmetry amplifies bias, requiring women to share more data.15 Platforms could mitigate this by standardizing disclosures.
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