Women Founders Receive Only 4% Startup Funding: Kalaari Capital

By: WE Staff | Friday, 6 March 2026

• The Kalaari Capital CXXO initiative report states, “Women founders receive Rs 4 for every Rs 100 raised in Indian startups”
• The study is based on startup segments with the highest connectivity to the UK-based startup funding market

According to a new report by Kalaari Capital’s CXXO initiative, only 4 percent women's founders get funding for each 100 rupees raised by all the founders in the Indian startup landscape.

The report asserts that this gap is caused by structural inefficiency in Indian markets rather than the absence of female entrepreneurs.

The 100 rupee statistic represents total funding across a data set of nearly 1000 Indian tech start-ups between 2015-2025, focusing on the employer groups most connected to the formal UK-based start-up sector where money is concentrated.

Women-led ventures defined as either one of its founding members is a woman account for only 4.4 percent of the total funding raised by this group.

Named The 4 Rupee Problem: Women Founders and the Market Gap Hidden In Plain Sight, the report explores funding patterns of women among the groups of founders who are part of successful and influential start-up alumni networks that account for a major share of the venture-capital and unicorn companies created in India.

The report points out that while these networks have played a significant role in shaping the Indian start-up landscape, women pioneers are greatly under-represented within them.

The report states women are only 0.6 times as likely to emerge from being founders in these networks when compared to women in traditional start-ups in India and therefore the funding gap should be considered a structural inefficiency, thus creating an opportunity for future female entrepreneurs.