Female Invest , a leading finance app empowering women through accessible subscription-based learning, financial news and community, has announced the closing of its Series A funding round, raising a total of €10.3 million.
Designed to empower women to maximize their financial potential and start investing, the platform boasts a vibrant online community of over 73,000 paid members in 123 countries and more than 512,000 followers across social media platforms.
In July 2024, Female Invest secured €9.4 million led by venture capital funds Educapital and Rubio. The company also launched a members-only crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs to raise an additional €900,000.
The campaign broke several world records, including the most pre-registrations (over 12,000 people), the fastest to raise $1 million (€900,000) in just 4 minutes, and the most female investors in a crowdfunding campaign (94%). This achievement is particularly noteworthy considering that less than 2% of funding goes to women-founded companies, making Female Invest a pioneer on multiple fronts.
“Given that there was a limit on investment amounts per member, we’re truly amazed that our community invested $1 million in just four minutes. Our members have been requesting a crowdfunding campaign for years, so we knew there was demand, but we expected it would take at least a few days to fill the round,” said Camilla Falkenberg, co-founder of Female Invest.
Founded in 2019 by Emma Due-Bitz (29), Camilla Falkenberg (31) and Anna-Sophie Hartvigsen (30), Female Invest was inspired by their own experiences at personal finance events where women were noticeably underrepresented. Recognizing the gender disparity in investing and saving, they created a platform to close this gap.
The co-founders attended Silicon Valley’s prestigious accelerator Y Combinator in 2021, are co-authors of the Sunday Times bestseller “Girls Just Wanna Have Funds,” and all have been named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in finance. Support from celebrities such as Hillary Clinton and Emma Watson has also boosted expectations for the startup.
With a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 240%, Female Invest has seen impressive growth, attracting users from 120 countries, with 40% of users currently based in the UK. With the new funding, the company plans to continue scaling its operations by officially launching in the US and expanding its trading services.
At a time when 70% of stocks are owned by male investors and female workers receive around two-thirds less in pensions upon retirement than their male counterparts (Nest survey, October 2020), Female Invest aims to close the gender gap in investing. The platform provides women with the skills they need to take control of their finances and achieve financial independence. According to a Warwick Business School study, women who invest tend to outperform men in terms of investment returns, highlighting the need for a female-centric financial platform.
Anna Sofie Hartvigsen, co-founder of Female Invest, explained the platform’s mission: “Women in every country lag behind financially: they earn less, save less, and invest less of what they have. Female Invest’s goal is to close this gap as quickly and effectively as possible.”
Camilla Falkenburg highlighted the need to reform financial advice for young women: “Financial advice for women is often focused on saving money on beauty, clothes, food and going out. However, there is a huge gap in resources to help women grow their money through investing. Female Invest fills this gap.”
Emma Due-Bitz, who has worked as a chartered stockbroker since the age of 20, added: “The finance industry has traditionally been male dominated and this is reflected in communication styles, company culture and product offerings. While this is not intentionally exclusive, it often results in women being excluded. Female Invest aims to change that.”
