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In this issue of our quarterly news update, we focus on the topic of investing in women-owned firms: not systemically through training and education or improving the business-enabling environment, but directly through purchasing their products and services, investing in the expansion of an individual enterprise, or by collectively investing in groups of women-led enterprises. The avenues available for supporting women-owned firms with our dollars (or Euro, Rupees, Yen ...) are ever-increasing; we share some of the latest trends here.
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Buying From Women-Owned Firms
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 E-commerce accounts for an ever-growing share of consumer spending. According to the US Commerce Department, e-sales accounted for 37% of retail sales in the first half of 2014. Online sales are up 57% in the US from 2010 to 2013, up 278% in China over that same period, and are projected to increase 11% per year for the next three years in Europe. So, when buying online, why not purchase products made by women-owned firms? It's increasingly easy to do so - by going to these women-owned business product web sites: You may also want to make note of Walmart's new women-owned label (depicted above). The result of a collaboration between Walmart, the Women's Business Enterprise National Council ( WBENC) and WEConnect International, the label will be gracing products on the shelves of the world's largest retailer very soon. |
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Investing in Women-Led Firms
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About 5% of venture capital investments are made in women-led firms, and about 12% of angel capital investments are likewise made in women-led enterprises. But, according to crowfunding platform Indiegogo - co-founded by a woman - fully 42% of their funding campaigns are launched by women, and these women raise 11% more money than do the men who launch crowdfunding campaigns on their platform. Indeed, crowdfunder Kickstarter recently found that women investees are outperforming their male counterparts on that platform as well. Another female-founded crowdfunding platform, soon to be relaunched, is Plum Alley.  | |
Sallie Krawcheck
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If investing individually isn't your thing, why not consider investing in a female-friendly family of funds? That's the motivation behind two new investment funds, Barclay's Women in Leadership Exchange Traded Notes, and Pax Ellevate's Global Women's Index Fund, spearheaded by former banking executive Sallie Krawcheck. While both of these funds are new, we look forward to more of them sprouting up as their rates of return start tracking upward. Kudos to these two funds for leading the way! Learn more at these links:
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Recent Womenabling Research Reports
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 Just in case you missed 'em, here are some recently-released reports focused on women's economic empowerment and entrepreneurship, for your womenabling reference shelf:
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