Female startup founders remain underrepresented in India and Southeast Asia, yet those who secure seed funding raise significantly larger rounds, according to First Cheque Report 2024 by Jungle Ventures.
In India, female founders comprised only 12 per cent of all seed-funded founders in 2024 year-to-date (YTD), a moderate increase from 7 per cent in 2021. However, companies with at least one woman founder raise median round sizes that are 114 per cent higher than the overall median.
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The median round size for companies with at least one woman founder is US$1.05 million. This is 114 per cent higher than the overall median round size of US$0.49 million.
The average round size is also higher for Indian companies with female founders. The average for companies with at least one female founder is US$1.74 million. The overall average is US$1.08 million.
In Southeast Asia, female representation is even lower, at 9 per cent of seed-funded founders in 2024 YTD. While such companies raised only 1.3 per cent more on average than the overall average, their median round size is significantly higher.
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The median round size for Southeast Asian companies with at least one woman founder is US$2.2 million, which is 29 per cent higher than the overall median of US$1.70 million.
While the report doesn’t explain the reasons behind these funding disparities, data suggests that female founders may face greater difficulty securing seed funding.
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