Global Funding for Women-Led Startups Declines in 2024; India Ranks 2nd in Tech Investments

In 2024, global funding for women-led tech startups dropped to $29.6 billion, marking an 11% decline from $33.1 billion in 2023 and a 21% drop from $37.5 billion in 2022. Despite this downturn, India secured the second position globally in terms of all-time funding for women-led tech startups, following the United States, according to a report by Tracxn. Macroeconomic challenges contributed to a reduction in overall investment, but certain sectors, including Enterprise Applications, Life Sciences, and FinTech, continued to attract significant funding.

Key Highlights

Global Overview

• Global funding for women-led startups declined by 11% in 2024.
• 2024: $29.6 billion
• 2023: $33.1 billion
• 2022: $37.5 billion
• Women-led startups accounted for 11.7% of total global funding in 2024.
• The global women-led startup ecosystem consists of over 69,000 companies, which have raised $309 billion to date.
• 45 funding rounds surpassed $100 million in 2024 (a 15% increase from 2023 but a 40% drop from 2022).

Major Deals and Investors

• Three companies secured $1 billion+ funding rounds in 2024.
• OpenAI
• Abound
• Wiz

Most active investors in 2024

• Seed-stage: Y Combinator, Techstars, Antler
• Early-stage: Lightspeed Venture Partners, General Catalyst, Accel
• Late-stage: Notable Capital, Sapphire Ventures, SoftBank Vision Fund

Sector-Wise Investment Trends

• Enterprise Applications received the highest funding at $16.1 billion (down 8% from 2023).

Retail, Edtech, and Enterprise Applications led in all-time funding,

• Retail: $7.8 billion
• Edtech: $5.4 billion
• Enterprise Applications: $5 billion

India’s Position in Women-Led Startup Funding

• India ranks 2nd globally in all-time funding for women-led tech startups with $26.4 billion raised.
• Highest-funded year: 2021 ($6.3 billion).
• India’s global contribution in 2022: 15.18% of worldwide funding ($5 billion from India).
• In 2024, India ranked 3rd in annual funding, after the US and UK, with 3.96% of global women-led startup funding.

City-Wise & Industry Trends in India

• Top Indian cities for women-led startup funding.
• Bengaluru
• Mumbai
• Delhi NCR
• No new unicorns in 2023 and 2024 (last surge in 2021 with eight new unicorns).

Five women-led startups went public in 2024

• MobiKwik
• Usha Financial
• Tunwal
• Interiors and More
• LawSikho

Acquisitions and IPOs

• Acquisitions of women-led startups have declined.
• 2021: 45 acquisitions
• 2022: 36 acquisitions
• 2023: 25 acquisitions
• 2024: 16 acquisitions

Government Initiatives for Women Entrepreneurs

• TREAD Program (Trade Related Entrepreneurship Assistance and Development)
• Provides financial loans through NGOs.
• Aims to empower women entrepreneurs through financial support, training, and networking opportunities.