6 female VCs you need to know

Venture capital shapes the future.

The composition of the people writing the checks has a habit of influencing the makeup of the people building the businesses.

Currently that role is concentrated in a small group.

In Europe, less than 15% of decision-makers in VC are women. The numbers are even worse for women of colour, solo GPs, and fund managers without legacy ties to capital. This is not only an inclusion problem - it’s a missed opportunity.

More women in venture means broader networks, different pattern recognition, and new investment theses overlooked by traditional VC. The UK could unlock £250 billion in new economic value if women started and scaled businesses at the same rate as men. Women tend to fund more diverse teams, focus on underserved markets, and bring operational experience that’s deeply relevant to early-stage founders.

This isn’t about optics - it’s about returns. Diverse teams are high performance teams. Untapped markets are undervalued.

Backing women in venture is one of the highest-leverage moves we can make if we want a stronger, more dynamic ecosystem - and a better pipeline of start-ups for the long term.

Here are some of the women doing exactly that across the UK and Europe.

These operators, builders, and investors are reshaping the VC landscape whether by raising funds to support female-led businesses, or creating the infrastructure and spaces needed to help women build successful companies.

Chenelle Ansah - Founding Partner, LightPace VC (UK)

Chenelle is on a mission to make the world a better place. Helping to diversify cap tables and funding climate and fintech start-ups that share her values on social impact. She was a speaker at the London Venture Capital Summit 2024, talking about the future of Fintech. She is also a partner at Cornerstone Partners, the UK's first black-owned investment firm.

Kinga Stanislawska – Co-Founder and Managing General Partner of Experior Venture Fund and Founder of European Women in VC (UK)

Kinga built the $20 million Experior Venture Fund, which claims to be the first women-founded and run VC in Europe. Kinga is also behind European Women in VC, a network linking hundreds of investors across the continent. She’s focused on changing the status quo and helping women navigate a career in VC.

Debbie Wosskow OBE - Co-Chair of the Invest in Women Taskforce

Debbie is a serial founder turned ecosystem architect. Debbie co-founded AllBright, one of the first platforms dedicated to supporting women in business with networking and training support. She is now directing her efforts into building a government supported £250M fund to invest in female entrepreneurs across the UK. She's been at his for a decade and an expert in the game.

Agata Leliwa-Nowicka – Investor and Founder, Female Foundry (UK/PL)

Agata and I first crossed paths at the “Breaking Barriers” event at the Francis Crick Institute, and I can only describe Agata as a powerhouse. Agata is the woman behind Female Foundry, created to support female-founded start-ups across Europe. It serves as a deal flow engine, connecting investors with start-ups, and provides critical infrastructure to female entrepreneurs, enabling access to the latest AI tools and thinking to help scale.

We chatted briefly on recent market trends, and Agata noted that “with AI commoditising tech-building for entrepreneurs, the focus is now on vision and market access - there’s never been a better time for visionary female founders to build a successful company!”

Check Warner - VC, Ada Ventures & Diversity VC

As co-founder of Ada Ventures and chair of Diversity VC, Check Warner has reshaped what inclusive investing looks like in Europe. With a background spanning advertising, Downing Ventures, and Seraphim Capital, she brings a sharp eye for customer-obsessed founders tackling the world’s hardest problems. Ada’s “Inclusive Alpha” thesis backs pre-seed to seed-stage startups across climate, economic empowerment, and healthy ageing - with a growing £120M AUM and a portfolio punching above its weight.

Milette Gillow - Ex-VC, Founder, Builder, Tech Bros (UK)

Whilst Milette has now left VC she needs an honorable mention. Taking on bro-led tech culture and providing women with a space to learn and grow, Milette’s recent venture Tech Bros, is dedicated to empowering women with STEM backgrounds to launch start-ups. Recently, they have announced ‘Norway Hacker House’ - an accelerator for women building tech products. This directly tackles the problem that Sifted reported in a recent newsletter that hackathons have very few female participants.

We reached out to Milette about her success on the hacker house and she shared “the response to my recent post has been overwhelming, and shows a real need for what we’re building. We’ve already had 70+ accelerator applicants - it’s looking to be a strong cohort”. Exciting times.

This group of female VCs is helping to build bridges between capital and underserved groups as well as helping to diversify the venture capital ecosystem.

🙋‍♀️ Who did I miss? DM me.