Crowdfunding for Women Entrepreneurship: Opportunities, Challenges, and the Path Forward (Journal of Entrepreneurial Researchers)

Summary

• The literature review synthesizes 36 empirical studies conducted between 2012 and 2023 on crowdfunding and gender.p.2
• Women represent approximately 34.7% of entrepreneurs on reward-based platforms such as Kickstarter.p.3
• Women entrepreneurs achieve higher success rates on reward-based platforms compared to their male counterparts.p.3
• Female-led ventures show higher likelihood of receiving funding in certain European equity crowdfunding contexts.p.3
• Female entrepreneurs frequently set lower fundraising goals compared to male entrepreneurs, contributing to smaller total amounts raised.p.4

Key insights

1. Assortative matching plays a critical role in equity crowdfunding, as investors display preferences for funding entrepreneurs of their own gender.p.5
2. Quality signals are evaluated differently based on founder gender; for example, management experience benefits male founders but can harm female founders in equity settings.p.5
3. Third-party endorsements and media coverage provide a stronger positive signaling effect for women entrepreneurs in equity crowdfunding.p.5
4. The presence of female board members in Latin American firms correlates positively with average pledges and percentage of funding targets reached.p.4
5. Intuitive, fast investor decision-making modes promote gender equality in reward-based crowdfunding environments.p.6
6. Initial funding advantages observed for women in early-stage campaigns often diminish in later-stage or capital-intensive ventures.p.4