Closing the funding gap

Promising founders are everywhere, yet women and people of colour are significantly underfunded by venture capital.

But companies that are led by a female founder perform 63% better in ROI than those with all-male founding teams, and companies with ethnically diverse leadership are 36% more likely to outperform others in profitability.

Still, only 0.8% of venture capital in the Netherlands goes to all-female founded teams, and just 5.7% goes to mixed teams. In Europe, 0.5% of venture capital goes to female founders of colour, and funding is going down per year.

This is why we ran a Diverse Founders Accelerator programme from May to July 2022, supporting a cohort of 6 early-stage tech start-ups led by women and people of colour.
The programme has now finished. We will share the impact of the programme on this page, and will update it when a future programme launches.
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Benefits

We are offering a free 3-month Accelerator programme to support 5-7 female founders and/or founders of colour in The Netherlands with raising funding and growing their business.

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Fundraising

Get our support in raising seed funding between €150k and €1 million. We will help you with your fundraising materials, train you in delivering your pitch, and directly connect you with our network of investors.

Community

Get introduced to our community of mission-aligned super connectors, partners, and investors who have the resources to skyrocket your business. You will also join the Global Tech Advocates community of 20,000 members in 20+ hubs across the world.

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Three people sat next to each other at a table

Mentoring

Get paired with a successful entrepreneur who will share advice, connect you to their network, and support you throughout your journey.

Coaching & Workshops

Gain practical knowledge to grow your business. Based on your needs, we will design a personalised curriculum with 1-on-1 coaching sessions and group workshops on topics such as fundraising, marketing and leadership skills.

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Programme Details

Location

42Workspace, Schiedamse Vest 154, 3011 BH, Rotterdam.

Dates

Deadline to apply: March 20th
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The programme runs from:
May 5th - 7th
June 2nd - 4th
July 7th - 9th
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Cost

Participation is entirely free of charge and funded by Tech Netherlands Advocates. We do not charge start-ups in the cohort any equity or programme fees.

If you have any questions, please contact us.

Curriculum themes

Strategy

Strategic Planning
Product Market Fit
Brand & Marketing
Business Model

Funding

Investor Landscape
Valuations
Pitching
Close the Deal

Growth

Sales
Partnerships
Mindset & Resilience
Scaling Up

Eligibility Criteria

We work with start-ups based in The Netherlands who:

Founder

Are led by at least one Founder who is a woman and/or a person of colour, and holds a controlling equity stake in the company.

Technology

Have technology built into its core business.

Early Stage

Aim to raise seed funding
(€150k - €1 million).

Impact

Create positive social or environmental returns.

FAQs

Why is this programme focused on female founders and founders of colour?

We recognise that talented founders are everywhere, but capital is not distributed fairly.

In The Netherlands, only 0.8% of venture capital goes to all-female founded teams, and just 5.7% goes to mixed teams. In Europe, 0.5% of venture capital goes to female founders of colour.

We aim to help close this funding gap, and to combat bias by giving opportunities specifically to female founders and founders of colour.

What does the application and selection process look like?

Eligible start-ups can apply to the programme by submitting the application form. When applications close, a shortlist of 15 start-ups will be made. These applicants will be invited to an interview round, after which a final selection will be made. Each application is reviewed with the following factors in mind: Innovation, Uniqueness, Impact and Scalability.
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Timeline of the process:
Applications open: February 17th, 2022.
Applications close: March 20th.
Shortlist announced: March 24th.
Interviews: March 28th - 31st.
Final cohort announced: April 5th.
Programme starts: May 5th.
Programme ends: July 9th

What are the programme dates?

The programme takes place from May - July 2022.
We will aim to concentrate all programme activities on 3x ‘Bootcamps’ that run from the first Thursday until the first Saturday of each month:
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May 5th - 7th.
June 2nd - 4th.
July 7th - 9th.

What commitment will be required?

We expect you to attend the full programme. This means being present at all events from the first Thursday to Saturday of each month from May until July. Another co-founder or member of your leadership team may represent your company at some events in some exceptional cases. This should be discussed with the Tech Netherlands Advocates team.

Can my co-founder also join the programme?

Your co-founders are welcome to join the events, if there is capacity. There should be one person who will attend most events, and who is the main representative of your company.

Who is Stichting Tech Netherlands Advocates?

We are the Dutch chapter of the Global Tech Advocates, a global community of 20,000+ members across 20+ hubs in the world. Our mission in the Netherlands is to support the thriving Dutch tech start-up ecosystem. Find out more about our organisation here.

I want to get involved as a mentor or partner. How can I help?

We welcome people and organisations who want to support the programme with their time, funding, connections or other resources. Please reach out to andre@techadvocates.nl for more information.

What about COVID-19?

This is an in-person programme, taking place at 42Workspace in Rotterdam. We are hopeful that small in-person events will be possible again in May until July of 2022.
To ensure that the programme is safe and 100% compliant with all regulations, we will closely monitor the Dutch Government’s COVID-19 restrictions and guidance. All future public health advice and guidelines will be followed, which might include COVID-19 testing throughout the programme.
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Whilst our goal is to run the sessions in-person, if there will be any travel or group size restrictions that will prevent us from effectively running the programme, we will move the affected dates to virtual sessions. We have experience with running virtual sessions, so we would make sure you can get the full value of the programme from the safety of your home.
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Finally, we will aim to communicate all requirements and changes promptly and with as much lead time as possible, and we encourage you to get in touch with the programme staff if you ever have any safety concerns.

Accelerating the extraordinary

Unlocking the potential of founders who are structurally overlooked