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Home Blog Best Funding Resources for Female Founders and Female-Led Businesses
Do you run a female-owned business that’s seeking funding resources to help you excel as a female entrepreneur? Do you need an infusion of cash to get your business back on track after a challenging 2020?
If so, take a look at these female-focused funding resources, ranging from loans to venture capitalists to grants. These sites may help you to secure the funding you need—and maybe will also gain you a support network of other female business owners to help you succeed.
Small business loans come in all shapes and sizes. Our “Business Loans: Your Guide to Finding and Securing Financing” guide can assist you through the many options: business credit loans, business term loans, short term loans, equipment financing, and more.
In general, loans exclusively targeting women aren’t as common as loans targeting other underserved populations. But here are a few loan options that embrace diversity:
Microloans are another option. These small loans—typically less than $50,000 but often much smaller—usually have fewer stipulations and offer quicker repayment terms than more traditional loans. Depending on the loan terms, microloans can usually be used for various purposes, from employee wages to buying furniture to covering conference registration fees.
No doubt you read “microloan” and immediately thought of Kiva, a well-known nonprofit that funds entrepreneurs worldwide via microloans. Lendio itself has partnered with Kiva for our Lendio Gives program.
That said, Kiva isn’t your only option. Many financial institutions offer microloans, including curation lender services from Lendio—so ask what’s available before applying for a larger amount than you need.
Winning a grant isn’t easy: everyone wants a chunk of free money. You’ll have to prepare to access grants, including potentially having your company certified as a women-owned business. Most grant programs aren’t perpetually open, which means you’ll also need to allocate time to search for grants that fit your business needs and timeline.
Grant options that specifically target women include:
And by all means, ask your favorite small business associations and industry associations for other sources of grants. Don’t overlook your local SCORE or Small Business Center (SBC). These folks often have insider information about regional funding opportunities.
Venture capitalists (VCs) can be a company’s dream come true—you get private equity investments in exchange for an equity stake in your company. It’s not a quick process, however. You have to pitch the VC firm, make it through their evaluation process, and then jump through the many legal hoops to complete the deal.
Generally, a VC option is viable only if:
One of the upsides of VC is that, in addition to funding, you may receive education, support, and a network of female business owners who want to help you succeed. Many of the VC firms listed here don’t “fund and run.” They become your mentors and champions instead.
VC firms that focus their investments in female-founded businesses include:
Female investors and female-founded investment firms may not fund female-founded businesses exclusively—but they’ve been in your shoes before and may be more apt to help you close the inequality gap in VC funding. 2 dashboards to review are:
If you’re serious about pursuing VC funding, consider enrolling in an accelerator program: essentially a boot camp for female founders and owners seeking VC funding.
These programs don’t fund businesses directly, unlike the support or education programs attached to some VC funding programs. Instead, they help you to refine your pitch and develop a fundraising playbook. You’re also buying into a network of women who have already sailed those open waters—and often, these same women are potential investors for your company.
Accelerator programs to consider include:
As a women-owned business, it can be challenging to secure the funding you need. Taking advantage of funding resources designed to close the funding gap for women can help you to access the funding you need to launch or grow your business.
Katherine O'Malley is a contributor to the Lendio blog. A technology geek at heart, she splits her time between traveling, freelance writing, database administration work, and implementing SEO on her travel blog. In her free time, she loves to research the challenges small-to-midsize tourist suppliers face and find ways that technology can help them out.
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