In a first, LetsVenture rolls out women-only angel network in India

In a first-of-its-kind angel network in India, LetsVenture is rolling out Women Angel Network, which will provide access to women angel investors to invest in early and growth stage start-ups and also provide flexibility to mentor and support them. With this launch, LetsVenture aims to onboard at least 100 women angel investors in 2021 and will launch at least five lead syndicates run by women.

According to reports, India has about 10,000 angel investors and only a per cent of these are women. Through this venture, the platform is looking to improve the diversity and gender parity among the investor community and over time, improve the number of women in the pipeline that are taking board positions in both listed and unlisted companies in India. 

“LetsVenture started with the aim of democratising access to angel investing. We have done decently at a group level. In 2020 alone, we had over 700 angel investors join the platform. 35 per cent of them are new to the asset class and over 45 per cent are professionals and CEOs,” said Shanti Mohan, CEO & co-founder, LetsVenture, which has portfolio companies such as Yulu, Daily Ninja, and LBB. 

“Even within these buckets, the ratio of female participation is abysmally low and we believe there needs to be concerted effort to change this. Therefore, we are launching a dedicated program for women angel investors,” Mohan added.

LetsVenture is also launching a learning programme for women investors, a dedicated community for networking and lower cheque sizes on the platform for a capped timeframe.