ET OnlineAccelerator Group, a US-based Investment Banking Advisory Services and Knowledge Services firm, on Monday announced a $25 million fund. The fund titled Achieving Women Entrepreneurs Fund I will invest specifically in startups owned and led by women entrepreneurs. Speaking to ET.com, Accelerator Group, Managing Director, Seema Chaturvedi explains the workings of the fund and the state of women entrepreneurship in India.
Economic Times (ET): You have announced a $25 million fund to be used to invest in women-led enterprises. Please give us more details.
Seema Chaturvedi (SC): The fund is called Achieving Women Entrepreneurs Fund I and is being raised by the Accelerator Group. It is an outcome of the experiences gained through AIRSWEE. We are in the process of bringing in more women who have the rich experience of having found companies and invested in other companies as partners in the fund. We raised $200,000 in two days and hope to announce the first close by end of March 2019.
ET: Who are you targeting through this fund?
SC: Our focus with this fund is women entrepreneurs. However, we are very mindful of the businesses not only being owned, but also being led by women entrepreneurs. In our experiences, we have come across several businesses which, on paper, are owned by women entrepreneurs, but for all practical purposes, are being run by their husbands or other men in their lives.
Our whole idea is to empower women and we are very diligent about making sure that women are actively engaged in the businesses we invest in. This, after all, is the essence of the impact we are trying to make.
We will start by targeting those we have with us through AIRSWEE, but are also open to other women entrepreneurs. The idea is to invest on the basis of merit because at the end of it all, we want to invest in a manner that enables us to raise more funds for round 2 and 3. It is called Achieving Women Entrepreneurs Fund I, but the hope and the expectation is that we will be able to build on the success of this fund and raise further rounds.
ET: Which sectors are you planning to target with this fund?
SC: We will invest in anything except real estate and infrastructure. The reason being our accelerator firm has expertise in healthcare, manufacturing, and food and agriculture with technology enabling these sectors. So, these are natural areas for us to promote because we can understand these areas and can help the companies operating in these sectors.
ET: Women entrepreneurs are always criticised for focussing more on domestically-inclined businesses. How would you answer this criticism?
SC: My mission is to make women economically independent and if she achieves this objective by selling masalas or through some tech product is not a concern of mine. Look, MDH is a huge empire and so is, Pathak pickles. I do not see anything wrong in women pursuing these fields. It does not always have to be cutting-edge technology based businesses. Some of the biggest wealth creators are operating in the field of retail. After all, Wal-Mart is a multi-billion dollar company.
I, as an investor, am less concerned about whether the business is in the field of cutting-edge technology but more interested in the impact they can create and the problem they are seeking to solve, and if they are scalable and sustainable.
I want to impress on the women entrepreneurs that this is not charity. They need to generate revenues through their businesses because if they do not then the fund does not earn, which, in turn, dries up the potential pool of further investment. We are very driven in making sure that we invest in commercially viable businesses.
ET: How would you differentiate between women entrepreneurs and their male counterparts?
SC: Women are incredible problem solvers. A majority of the enterprises launched by women are trying to solve immediate problems. For instance, the woman who launched Spanx was trying to solve a problem she was experiencing herself. Therefore, creating a business model around their problem solving idea is a great business opportunity. Look at Spanx, it is a multi-billion dollar operation now.
Second common trait in women entrepreneurs is that they are incredibly detail-oriented. Most of the women entrepreneurs I have met are thoroughly prepared, but it is a lack of confidence which is a major roadblock. This is why I am so passionate about capacity building. My focus is not just on teaching business aspects like handling finances, legal requirements, etc., but also about teaching them soft skills that men seem to know naturally.
Economic Times (ET): You have announced a $25 million fund to be used to invest in women-led enterprises. Please give us more details.
Seema Chaturvedi (SC): The fund is called Achieving Women Entrepreneurs Fund I and is being raised by the Accelerator Group. It is an outcome of the experiences gained through AIRSWEE. We are in the process of bringing in more women who have the rich experience of having found companies and invested in other companies as partners in the fund. We raised $200,000 in two days and hope to announce the first close by end of March 2019.
ET: Who are you targeting through this fund?
SC: Our focus with this fund is women entrepreneurs. However, we are very mindful of the businesses not only being owned, but also being led by women entrepreneurs. In our experiences, we have come across several businesses which, on paper, are owned by women entrepreneurs, but for all practical purposes, are being run by their husbands or other men in their lives.
Our whole idea is to empower women and we are very diligent about making sure that women are actively engaged in the businesses we invest in. This, after all, is the essence of the impact we are trying to make.
We will start by targeting those we have with us through AIRSWEE, but are also open to other women entrepreneurs. The idea is to invest on the basis of merit because at the end of it all, we want to invest in a manner that enables us to raise more funds for round 2 and 3. It is called Achieving Women Entrepreneurs Fund I, but the hope and the expectation is that we will be able to build on the success of this fund and raise further rounds.
ET: Which sectors are you planning to target with this fund?
SC: We will invest in anything except real estate and infrastructure. The reason being our accelerator firm has expertise in healthcare, manufacturing, and food and agriculture with technology enabling these sectors. So, these are natural areas for us to promote because we can understand these areas and can help the companies operating in these sectors.
ET: Women entrepreneurs are always criticised for focussing more on domestically-inclined businesses. How would you answer this criticism?
SC: My mission is to make women economically independent and if she achieves this objective by selling masalas or through some tech product is not a concern of mine. Look, MDH is a huge empire and so is, Pathak pickles. I do not see anything wrong in women pursuing these fields. It does not always have to be cutting-edge technology based businesses. Some of the biggest wealth creators are operating in the field of retail. After all, Wal-Mart is a multi-billion dollar company.
I, as an investor, am less concerned about whether the business is in the field of cutting-edge technology but more interested in the impact they can create and the problem they are seeking to solve, and if they are scalable and sustainable.
I want to impress on the women entrepreneurs that this is not charity. They need to generate revenues through their businesses because if they do not then the fund does not earn, which, in turn, dries up the potential pool of further investment. We are very driven in making sure that we invest in commercially viable businesses.
ET: How would you differentiate between women entrepreneurs and their male counterparts?
SC: Women are incredible problem solvers. A majority of the enterprises launched by women are trying to solve immediate problems. For instance, the woman who launched Spanx was trying to solve a problem she was experiencing herself. Therefore, creating a business model around their problem solving idea is a great business opportunity. Look at Spanx, it is a multi-billion dollar operation now.
Second common trait in women entrepreneurs is that they are incredibly detail-oriented. Most of the women entrepreneurs I have met are thoroughly prepared, but it is a lack of confidence which is a major roadblock. This is why I am so passionate about capacity building. My focus is not just on teaching business aspects like handling finances, legal requirements, etc., but also about teaching them soft skills that men seem to know naturally.
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