India home to 8,000 women-led tech startups, Delhi-NCR tops list: Tracxn

Of the over 8,000 women-led startups, 2,316 have received funding while about 6,000 are unfunded. Women tech entrepreneurs have cornered 14.8% share of the overall tech funding pie at $23 billion

India has produced more than 8,000 tech-based startups with women founders, which have raised nearly $23 billion till date, a report by data platform Tracxn revealed on Thursday. According to the data, India tech startups have raised an impressive $155 billion in total funding, with women-led startups capturing 14.8 per cent share of the overall tech funding pie.

Of the 8,000 startups, 2,316 have received funding till date. The data showed that nearly 6,000 firms are unfunded, of which 590 companies have a revenue of more than $30,000.

Delhi-NCR tops in producing women-led tech startups

Delhi-NCR region took the lead in terms of the number of women-led startups, with over 2,300 firms formed to date, followed by Bengaluru and Mumbai. However, Bengaluru ranked first in terms of funding, with about $9.5 billion raised for women-led tech startups. Tier-II cities Jaipur and Indore also featured in the top 10 list.

India boasts second-highest funding for women-led companies

"Women entrepreneurs' share of startups in the Indian tech industry exceeds 18 per cent, and among funded companies the share is more than 14 per cent," according to Tracxn. Globally, the Indian Tech startup ecosystem ranks second after the United States, in terms of funding raised by companies with women founders.

On a global scale, 2020 witnessed the highest funding contribution from Indian women-led startups of almost 17 per cent. The funding amounted to $2.9 billion for Indian women founders against $17 billion raised by global women-led tech startups, the report stated further.

2021 best year for women-led tech startups

Tracxn said that 2021 emerged as the year with the highest funding for women-led tech startups in a decade at $6.5 billion. "In 2021, there was remarkable growth in funding into women-led tech startups, experiencing a surge of over 100 per cent across various stages. However, post-2021, overall funding across stages declined, except for early-stage startups, which saw a substantial 97 per cent increase in 2022, reaching $1.5 billion compared to the previous year," the report noted. 

According to Tracxn, 2021 was also the best year for unicorns (startups valued at over $1 billion) created by women at 8. The year also holds the record for the highest number of acquisitions of women-led startups at 42.

Amid the ongoing winter funding persisting in the startup ecosystem, women-led companies have suffered significantly, witnessing a sharp drop of 75 per cent in funding at $1.1 billion in 2023 from $4.5 billion in 2022.

B2C e-commerce top sector with women-led startups

The sectors where women-led startups have thrived are B2C e-commerce (3,434), followed by internet-first brands companies (1,355) and SaaS companies (1,181). "Thriving sectors also encompass fashion tech, marketplaces, and B2C fashion e-commerce. The industry landscape further showcases substantial activity in enterprise software, internet-first fashion brands, K-12 ed-tech and online grocery," the report said.

LetsVenture, Wellfound and Venture Catalysts are the most active investors in companies founded by women.