The proportion of funds allocated to women-led start-ups in India saw an increase in 2022 as compared to 2021, according to data shared by private market intelligence platform Tracxn.

In 2022, $3.9 billion of funding poured into Indian start-ups led by female founders, making up around 11 per cent of the total funds ($35.6 billion) raised. The is promising compared to 2021, when only 8 per cent ($3.9 billion) of total funding ($53.7 billion) went into the country’s women-led start-ups. 

Edtech, most successful

Edtech and consumer sectors turned out to be the most successful for women-led start-ups, alternating between the first and second most funded sectors in 2021 and 2022. The Femtech sector, which comprises start-ups providing digital solutions for women and baby health, has also been seen exponential growth in India. 

Funding into femtech sector grew by 38 per cent to $98.4 million in 2022, compared to $71.2 million in 2021. Between 2017 to 2022, funding into the femtech sector has increased by a massive 91.4 per cent. 

Early-stage funding

Early-stage funding for women-led start-ups has also recorded steady growth. According to Tracxn data, early-stage start-ups raised $8.2 billion in funding in equity rounds in 2022 as compared to $7.1 billion raised in the previous year.  Out of this, early-stage funding into women-led start-ups nearly doubled from $550.5 million in 2021 to $1.1 billion in 2022. 

Out of the total funds allocated to early-stage start-ups in 2022, 13.4 per cent went to start-ups led by women. While in 2021, women-led start-ups only received 7.8 per cent of early-stage funding. 

Further, out of the 11 startups with women-led founders or co-founders that currently have a unicorn valuation ($1 billion or above), 5 become unicorns in 2022 itself. This includes 5ire, LEAD School, Open, LivSpace, and Amagi.

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