A festival promoting female VCs is set to take place in Leeds in May 2025.
The Athena VC Festival unites women venture capitalists, aspiring investors and industry allies, and is designed to promote equity, innovation, and collaboration in venture capital.
The event, which is organised by Lifted Ventures, is set to take place on 13th May 2025 at Nexus, University of Leeds.
Female-led startups are 500% more likely to be a billion dollar company compared to businesses that are male-led, according to research from Rogue Women’s Fund.
However, 90% of all VC’s are male and 86% of all start-ups funded by VC’s have a male-only team.
The festival will bring together a ‘community of changemakers’, bridging connections across both regional and national venture capital ecosystems.
“Although female investors are more likely to invest in female founders, only 18% of decision-makers in venture capital are women,” said Jordan Dargue, co-founder of Lifted Ventures and the Athena VC Festival.
“Women continue to face systemic barriers in venture capital, from limited access to influential networks to biases in decision-making.
“Athena VC is set to be the largest Women in VC event outside of London and the South East. In this inspiring event we provide practical tips on how to succeed as a woman in the investment sector, hear from women who’ve already pathed the way to creating successful careers and discuss the impact that women leaders are having in the investment sector.’’
Helen Oldham, Lifted Ventures co-founder, added: “The festival embodies the attributes of the Goddess Athena – wisdom, bravery, and resourcefulness.
“Our goal is to celebrate and elevate women in VC, build a community of change-makers, showcase success stories and opportunities, and drive inward investment to the North and beyond. Together, we can reshape the landscape for the better.”
The festival will include presentations and panels from leading women VCs, workshops on navigating career challenges and live pitch sessions from female-led startups.
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