“Women investing” is no longer a wish in Mexico’s VC ecosystem, it is now a non-profit

Contxto – Mujeres Invirtiendo—a group dedicated to building a venture capital (VC) industry in which more women participate in investment decision-making—has formalized its operations by establishing itself as a non-profit in Mexico. 

Now, they have opened to the public a fundraising campaign through Donadora to cover expenses surrounding their efforts to establish themselves officially. That includes paying notaries, incorporation, payment of lawyers and accountants, among others, says Damaris Mendoza Lorea, one of the nine women at the head of the Mujeres Invirtiendo governing council.

“No one is full time. Christine Kenna, Anna Raptis, María Ariza, Bego Ortiz, Susana Espinosa, Tricia Treviño, Karina Ojeda, Daphne Salinas, and I; we are all pro bono.” Therefore, overheads are not expensive.

It costs “MX$100,000 per annum to maintain the non-profit, and since we are already at about 80 percent [of collection] we are thinking of setting a second goal without modifying the Donadora staff. Let’s see if we can cover event expenses in 2021 and thus not charge them ”.

VCs in Mexico have much to improve regarding women

According to data from the AMEXCAP (Mexican Association of Private Capital), the total amount of VC sector money in Mexico hovers around the MX$60 billion (~US$2.8 billion) mark. Of that sum, 91 percent of the people who make investment decisions are men.

Only 6 percent of senior positions in the industry are represented by women. Only one in 10 private equity funds has women participate in their investment teams.

Furthermore, according to AMEXCAP, there are still funds where there are no gender diversity and inclusion programs or policies (71 percent) and that 22 percent of the funds in the country do not have any women in their investment team.

In order to tackle these inequities, Mujeres Invirtiendo was born more than five years ago. Its objective since has been that of achieving a more equitable private equity industry.

Women investing in women

The organization wants more women to have an active role in the investment decision-making process, as well as for women to hold leadership positions that shape the VC industry in Mexico.

And this is not only because gender parity is the right thing to do.

Studies carried out by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) found that including more women in positions of power in VCs results in a net internal rate of return of 1.7 percent over above the mean.

On March 8, IFC Chief Operating Officer Stephanie von Friedeburg said:

“We must drive economic development through gender equality, with more than US$18 trillion in purchasing power, women have the power to transform the global economy.”

Mujeres Investing focuses on three main pillars:

● To generate community, by serving as a support system for women, leveraged from their network of contacts.

● To empower women, through conversations and training with specialists.

● To improve women’s visibility, by generating data regarding the participation of women in the VC and entrepreneur ecosystem in Mexico, such as investors, administrators, counselors, entrepreneurs, businesswomen, etc.

“Not long ago, you could still count the women involved in the VC and private equity ecosystem in the country on one hand, we are changing that,” concluded Tricia Treviño, Senior Associate at Promecap.

-AG