Encourageventures network wants to invest up to 120 million euros in female-led start-ups - 60 top female managers are involved

What do Tina Müller, Ina Schlie, Alexa Gorman and Sigrid Nikutta have in common? They are successful managers and entrepreneurs who want to support female founders in the start-up scene. Today sees the digital launch of their network Encourageventures.

Men give money to men, now women are giving money specifically to women: 60 female investors from Germany have joined forces and founded a network called Encourageventures, which is explicitly dedicated to supporting women-led start-ups. Together with the investment company Auxxo, they are planning an all-female growth fund worth 100 to 200 million euros.

The idea came to former SAP top manager Ina Schlie during the financing round of the start-up Tandemploy, in which only female investors took part. After that, there was a lot of interest and demand from other start-ups, and Schlie initiated the network. "There is a lack of role models among both female founders and female investors. We want to change this with encourageventures and ensure more visibility and capital - true to the motto 'one can be, what one can see'," says Martina Pfeifer, describing the aim of the network.

She is joined in Encourageventures by German Douglas boss Tina Müller, multi-supervisory board members Alexa Hergenröther and Angelika Gifford, entrepreneur Stephanie Bschorr, Head of Start-up Activities at SAP Alexa Gorman and CEO of DB Cargo AG Sigrid Nikutta.

Start-ups can apply to Encourageventures to be included in the network. The first pitch nights were held in April and June 2021, where the Cologne-based start-up Deep Skill, for example, successfully presented itself. Founder Miriam Mertens explains her motivation: "In an all-female round, I hope to be treated in a way that values my performance and experience more than a big show." A third pitch night is planned for after the summer break, with the kick-off event taking place digitally from Berlin today.