The technology space in Malaysia is widely perceived to be male-dominated. For years, the gender gap has been quite apparent in the number of female entrepreneurs active in the Malaysian scene. Despite the Malaysian government’s initiatives to address the lack of female participation in the industry, the current situation has not changed much, with only 23 per cent of startup founders in Malaysia being women.
However, some women are beating all odds and standing out in Malaysia’s tech startup scene. At AdEasy, an adtech startup looking to disrupt offline advertising, we are trying to make strides as a women-led tech company in Malaysia.
We started AdEasy in 2017 after spotting a gap in the offline advertising space. We aim to simplify the offline advertising process using the power of online marketplace technology.
But before we can get into our story, let us have a look at some of the challenges faced by female entrepreneurs in Malaysia and around the world.
Gender-based stereotypes and biases
Being an entrepreneur comes with its own set of challenges, irrespective of gender and other factors. However, women face an additional challenge in surmounting gender-based biases, that pigeonhole female-founders into a gendered subset of fields.
In the UK, according to reports, startups started by women in gender-neutral industries such as advertising and wearables get around 54 per cent less funding than female-founded businesses that cater to women.
In fact, female-founded “gendered” businesses, such as makeup, retail, and fashion get almost 110 per cent of the funding.
The funding gap
Last year, AdEasy managed to raise US$200,000 from angel investors. We were fortunate to find supportive investors in a challenging market, but we understand that funding can be one of the core obstacles for a female-led startup.
Also Read: Women in tech: A global evaluation
Funding for female founders stalled at 2.2 per cent of VC capital in 2018. The issue deepens in Asia, where women typically receive less financing than men.
Yet, it may not be just that investors are unwilling to fund female-founded startups. Based on a report by the British Business Bank, the proportion of female-led startups that received investment (four per cent) was roughly the same as those who asked for it (five per cent).
The problem, the findings suggest, is not that women are being overlooked for investment — it is that not enough women are coming forward with their ideas. So, why aren’t women asking for funding? After all, it seems that when they do, they do well.
Why do women hesitate to come forward?
From cultural conditioning to conservative life approach, there can be many reasons as to why women hesitate to come forward. In general, there is a tendency for young women to be raised to be overly reluctant to pursue risky ventures.
Furthermore, we tend to be more conservative in our approach to product development. We spend more time developing a business case and prototypes to ensure there is enough or valid reason to expend development resources, as opposed to the traditionally male-oriented, agile “fail fast” methodology that involves developing MVP, releasing it as quickly as possible, then moving on to the next thing.
Another place where the hesitation comes from is the fact that we tend to humanise our investors. We see investments as a sign of trust and honour, and feel responsible to ensure our investors get “paid back”. Eventually, we end up asking for less.
Lack of role models
At AdEasy, we believe that another challenge faced by women in tech here is the sheer lack of role models for women. As female influence in tech is relatively new, career blueprints are not as well defined, but things are changing slowly.
Young women now have the likes of Tan Hooi Ling, the co-founder of ride-sharing goliath Grab; Melanie Perkins, CEO and co-founder of Canva; and Ankiti Bose of Zilingo that they can look up to and learn from in the tech space.
Changing times
Despite these challenges, women are starting to thrive in the tech scene here, and their performance is staggering. In top-tier leadership roles, women have shown to perform better than their male counterparts. Last year, Malaysian entrepreneurs Sarah Chen and Joolin Chua made it to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list.
On the other hand, in the Dell Technologies’ 2019 Women Entrepreneur Cities (WE Cities) Index that ranks 50 global cities on their ability to foster growth for women entrepreneurs, Kuala Lumpur was listed on the 44th position.
Also read: Women self-promote way less than men. But why?
Finding your feet in a male-dominated industry is never going to be an easy task. But with more women at the forefront of the tech industry, the tide is starting to change. As the barriers to entry continue to diminish, 2020 is becoming an exciting prospect for female entrepreneurs.
We started AdEasy back in 2017 when the female influence in tech was significantly lower. Now, the makeup of the tech industry in Malaysia is beginning to change.
The Malaysian government is lending a helping hand with initiatives to address gender inequality. They have provided a portal to share best practices and techniques to help working women.
These are significant strides forward in supporting female entrepreneurs. Now, as attitudes change and funding is set to increase, more and more women are coming forward to work in the tech scene. It is safe to say that we are moving in a progressive direction.
While there is still a long way to go, the possibilities for female-led companies in 2020 are endless.
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