Why Number of Women-Led Start-Ups in India Keeps Falling

For every 245 start-ups run by men in India only one is run by women, a 2023 estimate says. 

One would think this is par for course. Women’s participation in the Indian economy has been historically low. They as business leaders is still unusual. 

But the element of surprise is in 2014 the ratio of men- to women-led start-ups was 51:1. Which means the number of women leading start-ups eight years ago was four times higher than the number in 2023. 

Data from Tracxn shows that in 2022 only 12 per cent of start-up funding in 2022 went to women-led start-ups. Only 6.9 per cent of tech start-ups are women-founded. 

The data reflects a systemic problem—a bias against women entrepreneurs. Experts say women leading start-ups need to work harder to prove their worth and secure the same opportunities as their male counterparts. The biases extend beyond individual investors to institutional practices. 

They add that women face issues in securing venture capital funding because of deep-seated gender biases being a major deterrent. 

A woman entrepreneur told Outlook Business that while making her funding pitches she faces questions such as: “What will happen after you get married and have children?”; or comments like “But you are too young a woman to handle a data start-up.” 

But making the start-up ecosystem gender-neutral is a cause worth pursuing. A 2020 report by consultants at Bain & Company estimated that women entrepreneurs, when provided equal resources, are likely to create 150–170 million jobs a year. 

Read this Outlook Business report on how the start-up ecosystem is failing India’s women.