Female fund managers make the case for ‘gender alpha’ in emerging markets

Breaking into a male-dominated industry like venture capital may well be a leading indicator of ability to invest in underdeveloped markets.

Women stand out at Global Entrepreneurship Summit

The tagline was The Future Now. It might as well have been The Future is Female. The 9th annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit, a joint initiative by the U.S. and Dutch governments, convened this week in the Dutch city of The Hague (my new home).

City of London invests £100 million in local venture and loan funds to cultivate entrepreneurship

MMC Ventures and social enterprise lender FSE Group have clinched £100 million ($127 million) to advance the city’s startup scene.

StandUp raises C$18 million to invest in Canada’s women-led tech startups

A key source of StandUp’s pipeline is Toronto-based startup hub MaRS’s Investment Accelerator Fund, which backs science and tech entrepreneurs and where McBane serves as a director.

ASIF Ventures backs Dutch ethical fashion company Project Cece

Amsterdam-based Project Cece makes ethical and sustainable fashion more accessible to people through an online marketplace that aggregates responsible brands.

World Bank dangles $50 million to draw early-stage impact capital to Egypt

Most of the funding—$145 million—will be invested in financial institutions that lend to small businesses, while $50 million will be committed to Egyptian startup accelerators and venture capital funds that are fostering entrepreneurship.

Serena Williams’ portfolio of diverse and impactful startups

ImpactAlpha, April 22 – Tennis mega-star Serena Williams has (not-so-quietly) invested millions over the last five years into dozens of diverse-led and impactful startups. Last week, Williams formally unveiled the full portfolio of Serena Ventures, which “invests in companies that embrace diverse leadership, individual empowerment, creativity and opportunity,” according to its website. There’s Mayvenn, the online marketplace