The European start-up ecosystem is increasingly a hotbed of innovation and entrepreneurship. However, the gender gap in start-up leadership remains a significant issue, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).
Despite these challenges, the region is witnessing a burgeoning movement aimed at empowering female founders, with a series of programmes and initiatives designed to ensure that women are provided with the opportunities to shine.
According to a 2023 report by Startup Europe, the percentage of start-ups with at least one female founder in CEE has risen to 25 per cent, up from 18 per cent in 2019. Nevertheless, while this progress is commendable, it is still behind Western Europe, where women make up approximately 30 per cent of start-up founders.
Pilar Trucios is an investor and co-founder of Wa4steam, a growing international community of women angel investors seeking to expand women-led entrepreneurship.
She believes that sometimes, women need to believe in their own abilities and not always look to men for answers.
“We invested in a project founded by a talented woman who decided she needed a CEO. So she hired one, a man. I said, ‘no, you are the CEO’. He was a disaster and eventually she realised that she was indeed the best CEO for the job,” Trucios says.
“This lack of confidence is a big issue for many women, because they have the skills and the abilities to succeed.”
Deep-rooted cultural norms and biases also pose a significant challenge. Many women report experiencing gender discrimination and a lack of support from male counterparts and investors who doubt their capabilities.
Diana Koziarska of venture capital firm Smok VC says that it’s important to ensure that girls are taught from an early age to be as ambitious as boys—in all fields.
“At pre-school we were all given dolls to take care of, with care being the key word. Take care of a doll, then when we grow up, take care of a family. I think this plays a major role in how girls, when they become young adults, view things.”
Angela Gusztos, RIS project lead at the European Institute for Technology’s (EIT) Health InnoStars initative, agrees. She says that research has shown that women tend to apply for jobs only if they see themselves as a 95 or 100 per cent fit for the post. “Men apply if they feel they are a 67 per cent fit,” she says. “This shows that it’s a matter of confidence—or a lack of it.”
Encouraging women to make the most of the skills that they unquestionably possess is a key milestone on the road to empowering more female entrepreneurs, adds Gusztos, as well as teaching them those which they lack.
“We carried out research amongst our alumni start-ups and it tapped into the idea of soft skills. What we identified is they want to learn more about communication, how to communicate their strengths, how to negotiate with a board of men, and how to identify the right investment,” she says.
For Joana Pinto of Portugal’s Instituto de Telecomunicações, which exists to create and disseminate scientific knowledge in the field of telecommunications, analytical skills are also important.
“Knowing what metrics to analyse, what data sets are relevant. With the right data you can bring in another key skill, critical thinking, which will allow you to deep dive into the problem and find a way of solving it,” she says.
Access to finance
One of the most significant barriers for female founders is access to capital. Despite the growing venture capital scene, women receive a disproportionately small share of investment. A study by Deloitte in 2022 revealed that only 12 per cent of venture capital funding in CEE went to female-founded start-ups.
For Diana Koziarska, diversity is key. Diverse companies building diverse teams see more revenue and are more profitable, she says.
“Diversity has an impact,” she adds. “If you have diverse team, you have diverse perspectives. You understand different audiences, different customers. It allows you to better scale the company and your products.”
The good news, suggests, Angela Gusztos, is that VCs are increasingly likely to fund impact start-ups, and female-led companies are more likely to be impact projects.
But she adds that VCs also need to take part in workshops and training sessions in order to, “learn about how they can value female-led companies”.
The importance of community
Ultimately, however, it is rethinking education that will likely be crucial for the development of the female-led entrepreneurial ecosystem—and this must include more role models showing that women can be successful in any fields. And with effective networking also important for start-up success, it does not help that many female founders find themselves excluded from key networking events and opportunities, which are often dominated by men. It is here that initiatives, such as those run by EIT, come into their own.
“It’s important to be part of a community that has these role models,” says Gusztos. “It’s huge. EIT runs a programme called Women In Venture, specially designed for women who are interested in being entrepreneurs, but they don’t have a company yet or may be at a very early stage. We also run JumpStarter, where there is a 50-50 split between male and female-led start-ups,” she says.
Joana Pinto, who has been part of EIT, agrees.
“Being part of the right community can make a huge difference for a first-time founder,” she says. “My experience is that EIT gave me the opportunity to meet with mentors and engage with people who were key players in the industry that I was about to enter.”
Empowering female founders in Central and Eastern Europe is not just a matter of equity; it is essential for driving economic growth and innovation.
The region has made commendable progress, but there is still much work to be done. By continuing to break down barriers and create supportive environments for female entrepreneurs, CEE can unlock the full potential of its start-up ecosystem.
With sustained efforts from all stakeholders—governments, investors, and the start-up community—female founders in CEE will undoubtedly continue to thrive and contribute to a more dynamic and inclusive economy.
Angela Gusztos, Diana Koziarska, Joana Pinto, and Pilar Trucios were speaking with Emerging Europe’s Andrew Wrobel at the Women in Tech Summit, held in Warsaw in June. You can watch the full discussion below.
