Women-led start-ups pitch for bigger slice of funding

ADAORA ORAMAH has been looking forward to this moment for years, as she adjusts her blazer and prepares to pitch in front of international investors.

The 26-year-old has already secured around $700,000 for her start-up Amaka Studio, a digital media venture that seeks to connect women globally through Panafrican stories. She is now looking to raise $1.6 million to help creators make money through the platform, including in local currencies, and to accelerate advertising capabilities.

But in this economy, fundraising is a challenge. “I know that’s particularly harder for women; typically harder for black woman as well,” the London-based founder says.

Oramah’s Amaka Studio is one of 10 tech-related enterprises that made it to Morgan Stanley’s demo day for start-ups at its Canary Wharf offices in east London last week, an even that followed five months of coaching. Five firms from Europe, the Middle East and Africa were selected from 1,200 submissions, in an expansion of a program that Morgan Stanley has run in the US since 2017.

One founder walks the room through slides with Tamagotchi-style pixel art, another uses golden tickets taped under chairs offering lucky winners treats from her online artisanal food store, and one reveals her start-up secured an investment that gives it 30 months of runway. Pitches from the cohort in New York are fed through a livestream.

The entrepreneurs were told there would be investors from Atomico, Silicon Valley Bank, Google for Start Ups, Black Seed Ventures, Lakestar and Cornerstone Partners in the room. Rather than committing to funding on the spot, they’re given time to hold conversations after the presentations.

“It was exhilarating,” Oramah says as she stepped out of the auditorium. “It’s been great being able to connect and learn more from the investor community as well as the start-up ecosystem as well.”

Dora Palfi says her company imagi, which teaches schoolgirls to code, had gone through a pivot during her time in the program to focus more on school partnerships. “It just felt like a big moment to also celebrate where we have gotten over the past few months.”

The past year was difficult for almost anyone looking to raise money, as rising inflation, recession fears and the crypto winter led investors of all sizes to press pause. But it was already almost impossible for small companies founded by women.