The Billion Dollar Fund for Women (TBDF), a global consortium of venture funds, managed to secure USD 1 billion in pledges from over 75 funds from more than 25 countries just eight months after its official launch last October. TBDF co-founders and managing partners Shelly Porges and Sarah Chen announced this at the Financial Alliance for Women Annual Summit in Paris this week.
The money will be used to invest in female-founded companies from now till 2020. Venture funds that have pledged to back and scale innovative companies with female founders include notable Asia-focused companies such as Gobi Partners, Golden Gate Ventures, Patamar Capital and Teja Ventures. These venture capital firms will retain their independence and manage and source their own deals to fulfill their pledges to TBDF.
TBDF was launched to tackle the gender funding gap. Women are a significant driving force in today’s economy with the she-economy (female-targeted economy) in Asia estimated to reach USD 8 trillion by 2020, according to data published by Teja Ventures, one of the VCs in the consortium.
Teja Ventures also claims that venture capital raised by women in 2017 was USD 1.5 billion, whereas their male counterparts raised USD 58.2 billion in the same year.
The initiative’s standpoint is that investing in female-founded companies is about more than just leveling the playing field for women and that it will also boost the global economy and business environment.