Funding Women for the Future, Not the Past

When we reference inclusiveness and sustainability, we tend to think in terms of statistics, the number of women receiving funding, the number of women at the table, and the number of businesses remaining alive. However we seldom ask ourselves what model of success women are being invested in.

Women in South Africa as well as all over the world are getting a small portion of venture and growth capital. And even when they are funded, they are frequently obliged, by word or unspoken, to be constructed and headed like men, aggressively, extractively, and at unsustainable personal and social rates.

The point I would like us to think about today is not just why women are underfunded, but also whether our funding systems have lost track of another, and equally potent, form of leadership - based on long-term, calm, collaborative, and sustainable thinking.

The inclusion so that women can be forced to fit in the current systems cannot mean sustainability in the true spirit of the SDGs.