Vienna’s Speedinvest has announced the appointment Deepali Nangia to the position of full Partner as of today. London-based Nangia’s promotion comes from within as she’d previously served as venture partner with the pan-European early-stage fund, In her new role, Deepali will help Speedinvest tap into underrepresented groups, as well as continue to focus on sourcing and leading investments into female founders.
Deepali Nangia’s appointment adds to the growing trend of VC firms not only promoting from within but systematically placing an emphasis on promoting gender diversity.
And rightfully so.
When commenting on the release of NGP Capital’s “The outsized role of gender in European venture funding” report Tech.eu founding editor Robin Wauters summarised, “if you're a female startup founder, fat chance raising venture funding in Europe”.
Fact: Less than 8% of investors and angels investors in Europe are women.
Based on the findings from Group Chief Executive Officer of NatWest Group Alison Rose, “Even if the UK were to achieve the same average share of women entrepreneurs as best-in-class peer countries, this would add £200 billion of new value to the UK economy.”
To put that into perspective: while the UK has enjoyed the most female-led startup exits in Europe, since 2011, just 15% of UK rising star companies have had a female co-founder. Breaking that down to UK initial public offers, just 10% counted a female founder, and of the largest 20 IPOs ever in the country, only two were by female-founded companies.
Enter Deepali Nangia.
If you remember our announcement of Speedinvest’s Emerge Programme partnership with Softbank, a programme that has specifically been established to fund and accelerate under-represented European founders, well guess who led that initiative at Speedinvest? None other than Deepali Nangia.
Hailing from a background in investment banking, private equity, and operations, Deepali’s work has been primarily focused on advising and investing in female founders, particularly in the areas of digital health, femtech, and climate tech.
On the angel investor front, Deepali holds the top slot from the UKBAA, having won the prestigious Angel Investor of the Year award for 2021, and is the co-founder of Alma Angels, a community set-up to increase the number of female angel investors in Europe who are committed to investing in female-founded companies.
On her appointment to full partner with Speedinvest, and with a message to female founders Nangia commented,
“My path into venture was not traditional and to all the women reading this, it is very much achievable. And those who are female founders, I am coming for you.”
On the appointment, Speedinvest’s managing partner Oliver Holle commented, “Grooming and developing a diverse next generation of investors requires time, effort, and patience from all. Having Deepali join as a full-time partner is a blessing in many ways. She is one of the strongest and most genuine voices and role models for the cause of female founders and female investors in Europe, a true confidante and valuable partner for the teams she supports. “
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