ABN AMRO invests in female entrepreneurship through Borski Fund
- Diversity and inclusion
The Borski Fund has raised 21 million euros to invest in women-led scale-ups. The Borski Fund is the first Dutch venture capital fund aimed at stimulating female entrepreneurship in the Netherlands. ABN AMRO, ING and Rabobank jointly committed to the fund, with each bank investing five million euros.
National and international data show that women-owned scale-ups have difficulty obtaining growth capital. The Borski Fund is changing this and sees opportunities. With the new funding, its goal is to invest in companies in need of growth capital to, for example, start innovating in HR and femtech. Fifteen to twenty companies will be further helped in the next five years.
The Borski Fund’s main partners are The Next Women, a network of women entrepreneurs, and StartGreen Capital, the largest fund manager in sustainability in the Netherlands. Simone Brummelhuis is the founder of The Next Women as well as the initiator and fund director of the Borski Fund. “The majority of venture capital investors are men, who often tend to invest in like-minded people. There are women who wouldn’t even approach these parties, so a lot of women often don’t receive the venture capital they deserve.”
This new source of funding will be used to strengthen female entrepreneurs and diverse teams and to help their companies grow. “We’ve always wanted to start a venture fund under The Next Women’s flag. We’re seeing a lot of interest and plenty of deal flow. Now it’s time to, together with Laura Rooseboom of StartGreen Capital, take the next step. I’m thrilled it’sfinally time!”
Daphne de Kluis, CEO of Commercial Banking at ABN AMRO: “We see that, in reality, female entrepreneurs have less access to capital. Out of all start- and scale-up financing, only a few per cent goes to female entrepreneurs. We’re happy to support the Borski Fund and are convinced the fund will be a positive contribution to female entrepreneurship in theNetherlands.”