By Jared Hecht

If you need funding to start or grow your woman-owned small business or startup, consider these female-friendly investment, loan, and grant opportunities.

In 2015, we’d all like to believe that women entrepreneurs have equal access to business funding as compared to their male counterparts. But the unfortunate reality is that while 30% of small businesses in the United States are female-owned, these women receive only 4.4% of total small business loan dollars.

Female entrepreneurs receive only 16% of conventional loans and 17% of SBA backed loans, and even when they are approved, female small business owners receive significantly smaller loan amounts than their male peers.

The good news, however, is that the U.S. Small Business Administration and many other nonprofit and for-profit organizations have recognized this disparity and are actively working to improve the financing climate for women entrepreneurs.

If you need funding to start or grow your woman-owned small business or startup, consider these female-friendly investment, loan, and grant opportunities.

Angel Investors and Venture Capital

Within the sphere of financing available specifically to women-owned businesses, venture capitalists and angel investors offer the widest range of options. A variety of angel investment organizations have their sights set on finding the next generation of female business leaders and investing in their success.

The capital investment route isn’t for everyone. Because venture capitalists do expect some level of return on their investment, smaller women owned businesses with limited growth trajectories and profit margins can struggle to access investor funding.

But if you’re a female entrepreneur with your sights set on enterprise level business growth, consider whether one of the angel investment opportunities may be a good fit for your needs.

Astia

Astia’s mission is to promote angel investment opportunities for women-owned ventures by connecting eligible businesses with interested investors. By applyingfor Astia’s Expert Sift program, you can have your business screened for eligibility to pitch directly to Astia’s network of angel investors. For selected applicants, Astia’s program provides not only essential business capital, but also the valuable advice and connections available from veteran angel investors.

Golden Seeds

This angel investment organization has invested over $70 million in more than 65 women-led companies since 2005, and that number continues to grow. And because Golden Seeds focuses specifically on early stage startups, it could be a great option for first round funding if you’ve only been in business for a short time. Like Astia, Golden Seeds also offers coaching and connection opportunities to help their successfully funded women entrepreneurs succeed. If you’re a brand new startup with an enterprise level growth trajectory, you might consider applying for funding through Golden Seeds.

37 Angels

This network of angel investors is on a mission to not only increase the amount of funds available to women owned businesses, but also increase the number of women entrepreneurs involved in angel investing. While 37 Angels invests in both women-led and male-led companies, the perspective and mentoring of these female angel investors can be of particular benefit to aspiring female entrepreneurs.

At five pitch forums per year, 37 Angels matches 6-8 high potential early stage businesses (out of 400+ applicants) with between $50 and $150K of seed capital funds, along with mentoring and coaching from their angel investors.

Grant Opportunities

Though the availability is more limited, grants can be a great opportunity to to grow your business without the pressure of making loan payments or providing dividends to investors. These small business grant programs focus specifically on providing funds to women-owned businesses.

The Amber Grant

Launched in 1998, the Amber Grant program was created in honor of a nineteen year old woman who sadly passed away before she was able to make her entrepreneurial dreams come true. Through small grants of $500 to $2,500, the Amber Grant program helps young female micro-entrepreneurs gain a foothold toward launching their businesses and accessing larger investment opportunities.

Although the grant amount itself is not huge, winning the Amber Grant may give female entrepreneurs the confidence and the starting push they need to successfully advocate for more funding in the future. It is also an excellent option for first-time small business owners because compared with other funding options, the Amber Grant requires little to no financial paperwork to apply.

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