Female entrepreneurs and start-ups take the stage in Bornholm
Male entrepreneurs outnumber female entrepreneurs by a significant amount. In Denmark and internationally, women only account for 1/3 of the start-up pool. On Sunday 16 June however, women entrepreneurs will take the stage at Folkemødet in Bornholm in order to discuss and mobilise female entrepreneurship and green start-ups.
Green entrepreneurs and start-ups focusing on solving the current climate crisis are central for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the targets set out in the Paris Agreement. Female entrepreneurs form an essential part of achieving these targets. Not only does gender equality benefit women, but also men, families and society at large through faster economic growth, societal cohesion and prosperity.
EIT Climate-KIC drives one of Europe’s largest cleantech accelerators and has supported more than 1,400 start-ups across 24 countries that have raised nearly €600 million in investment capital.
Despite these impressive numbers, men outpace women in entrepreneurship not only in EIT Climate-KIC’s programmes, but also globally. But in order to combat climate change and to reach the SDGs, we need all innovative minds engaged and pushing new solutions out into the market and into the decision-making processes across society.
“We live in a time where all organizations need to take a stand on gender diversity and do their best to improve the status quo to bring more talent to the table and Climate-KIC is dedicated to continuing the conversation on how to bridge the gap.”
– Emilie Normann, Director of Entrepreneurship, EIT Climate-KIC
Female entrepreneurs and climate change – more green start-ups
As part of the push to mobilise and motivate female entrepreneurs, EIT Climate-KIC is organising an interactive workshop at Folkemødet, the People’s Democratic Festival, taking place in Bornholm between 13–16 June. The workshop will take place at Verdensmålenes Telt on Sunday 16 June at 10.15–11.00.
The workshop will showcase how entrepreneurs and start-ups contribute to climate solutions in a concrete, tangible way and how to create partnerships with global businesses and cities about solutions that have success – so called impact entrepreneurship.
The workshop will feature two of EIT Climate-KIC’s female entrepreneurs, who will pitch their solutions to the audience. The audience will thereafter take on the role of start-up judges and investors and score the pitches based on their climate solutions, innovation, business model and their drive. Emilie Normann, Director of Entrepreneurship at EIT Climate-KIC, will also speak at the event about gender diversity and Climate-KIC’s dedication to further support and attract women into the entrepreneurship programmes.
Featured speakers:
- Hannah Michaud – CEO & founder of Apple Girl
- Deby Fapyane – Founder of Cellugy
- Emilie Normann – Director of Entrepreneurship, EIT Climate-KIC
The workshop will showcase new perspectives on green start-ups, female entrepreneurs and climate challenges – but foremost, climate solutions.
Mobilising female entrepreneurs and start-ups
In December 2018, EIT Climate-KIC launched a benchmarking study “Mobilizing female entrepreneurs and start-ups. How to bridge the gender gap in our accelerator and entrepreneurship programmes” that serves as the background for the workshop. It contains 28 pages of data, statistics, interviews and recommendations from across the EIT Climate-KIC start-up and entrepreneurship scene.
The report mapped out the status quo of the EIT Climate-KIC accelerator programme in regard to gender diversity and it outlines seven initial recommendations to take forward in order to mobilise a higher number of female founders and entrepreneurs. They are basic and universal for everyone running a start-up programme:
- Make it a priority
- Recruit more female role models
- Build bridges
- Put in place consistent gender tracking
- Drive progression
- Be aligned
- Engage with other communities and eco-systems
Currently, EIT Climate-KIC is also undergoing a fundamental change in its entrepreneurship programme to have a stronger focus on solutions that can create real impact.
Download the report
