Dublin’s NDRC has joined forces with Enterprise Ireland and AIB to launch a new pre-accelerator this summer for new technology start-ups with gender diversity in their founding teams.
“Research and commentary from around the world is saying that companies with strong gender diversity yield better results from IPOs and can have higher than average earnings,” explained NDRC chief executive Ben Hurley.
“Exploring this potential, NDRC will bring potential female founders together with highly qualified team members, mentors and business advisers to validate their ideas and get things moving towards a full business rollout.”
The Female Founders programme at NDRC is particularly relevant to women who have deep knowledge of their relevant industry sector or who have potentially disruptive ideas for new technology-focused businesses they are considering bringing to market.
The programme, which runs 25 July-29 August, will provide expert commercial planning and technology advice, along with the opportunity to build a start-up team, plus contributions from experienced mentors and role models. The programme is part time (one day per week) to maximise accessibility for participants.
Drop-in sessions are scheduled for people interested in the programme each Wednesday, from 28 May until 2 July.
The more gender diversity, the better the outcome
According to top tech venture capitalist Cindy Padnos, women-led tech start-ups achieve 35pc greater return on investment than male-led companies and 12pc higher annual revenues.
And according to the University of Michigan, companies with more gender diversity deliver 30pc better results from IPOs.
“Accelerating the growth of high-potential technology start-ups led by women is a key priority for Enterprise Ireland and we’re delighted to be supporting NDRC as a partner in their Female Founders initiative,” said Enterprise Ireland CEO Julie Sinnamon.
“NDRC is recognised internationally for its approach to enabling the very best early stage tech ventures, and with a number of Female Founders already in the NDRC portfolio, including Eventmama, Frockadvisor, Neuro Hero and Pharmapod, it’s the ideal place for a woman to begin her tech start-up journey.”
Women Invent Tomorrow is Silicon Republic’s campaign to champion the role of women in science, technology, engineering and maths. It has been running since March 2013, and is kindly supported by Accenture Ireland, Intel, the Irish Research Council, ESB, Twitter, CoderDojo and Science Foundation Ireland.
On Monday, 30 June, Silicon Republic will host the Female Founders Forum at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, featuring Eventbrite co-founder Julia Hartz and Anne Ravanona, founder and CEO, Global Invest Her
Female founder image via Shutterstock
