OUR INSIGHTS
As we look back on the 2025 Women’s Capital Summit (WCS), one word perfectly captures the experience: momentum.
Designed and led by Women Business Collaborative (WBC), the third annual WCS brought together over 250 participants, including entrepreneurs, capital providers and WBC partners and guests. Our mission was clear and urgent: unlock new capital for women-led businesses, educate participants on how to navigate capital in 2025, and address the influence of capital at every stage of a business’ lifespan. Over two days in New York City, we created intentional opportunities for investment, insights and deal generation, and connected capital providers with high-potential women-led businesses.
Participating entrepreneurs represented companies at every business stage: from seed to early growth to exit and are seeking capital in many forms including angel, debt, venture capital, grants. Founders represented diverse sectors such as manufacturing, food and beverage, finance, healthcare, and technology with companies averaging 16 employees and nearly $1.5 million in revenue. They are launching new products, expanding into new markets, and driving innovation.
Attending capital providers also brought deep experience across the full spectrum of financing. These funders represented a broad cross section of the capital landscape, and with targeted expertise in diverse sectors like technology, financial services, clean energy, and consumer goods They came with a common objective: to identify investable ventures ready to grow. What we created was far more than a traditional summit. It reestablished a growing collective effort to reshape the landscape of capital, expanding access and opportunity for women entrepreneurs.
Building a Capital-Ready Ecosystem
Women-led startups still reportedly receive less than two percent of venture capital funding, a statistic that underscores how much work we need to do. Yet at WCS, that statistic felt like a challenge, not a ceiling. At the center of the agenda was a powerful truth: women-owned businesses are growing faster than those led by men. There is opportunity. Our program, guided by the spectrum of capital and trends from the market, included interactive breakout sessions, capital matchmaking, leader-filled panel discussions, and fireside chats, and even showcased participating entrepreneurs at the WCS Marketplace.
One of the most impactful parts of this year’s event was our inaugural capital matchmaking segment, new to the agenda in 2025. We organized 39 individual meetings and a group matchmaking session that brought together several funders and nearly 40 entrepreneurs in a casual environment to ask questions and seek advice on their strategies for growth. These meetings weren’t just about funding, though that’s critical; they were about constructive feedback, facilitating direct connections to future opportunities, and showcasing entrepreneurs who are ready to scale with investors committed to supporting them as they grow their businesses. To ensure long-term value, we are actively tracking the progress of these connections to measure follow-up engagements, capital commitments, and collaborative outcomes that stem from these initial meetings.
Navigating the Landscape of Capital panel set the stage for our second day of programming, breaking down the critical differences in strategy when deciding on what kind of capital to pursue between debt and equity strategies that will allow your business to grow. This includes analyzing the current criteria of banks and firms, the purpose of the types of funds, and the importance of preparation, credit visibility, and performance metrics as essential for building a funding relationship. Equity providers offered valuable insights to our entrepreneurs, emphasizing that capital should match the company’s current stage and ambitions, not the founder’s immediate fundraising pressure. Panelists reminded attendees that some forms of capital aren’t always the right fit, and that founders must evaluate their needs and expectations before moving forward.
With over 20 sessions and more than 55+ speakers at the Summit, discussing the entire capital spectrum from early stage up through M&A and exits. Across these conversations, the message was clear: business outcomes and relationships drive investment. Funders want to see strategic discipline, realistic valuations, and well-prepared teams who understand what it means to scale responsibly. As well, funders and founders should be aligned on the use of the funds and business growth objectives.
Looking Ahead: Building on Our Momentum
The 2025 Women’s Capital Summit was not an endpoint, but a launching pad.
As Chair of the Steering Committee, I am deeply grateful to every entrepreneur, capital provider, sponsor, partner, and team member who made this event possible. This Summit wasn’t designed to celebrate ambition–it was built to fuel business. Every session, every meeting, and every panel was crafted to elevate the funding readiness of women entrepreneurs and expose capital providers to investable, scalable, high-performing ventures.
I invite everyone, whether you joined us this year or have attended WCS since 2023, to stay engaged, invest with intention, and stay connected to our community. At the 2025 Action for Impact Summit, we will build on our progress and bring this forum to a larger audience, amplifying our voices, and expanding the ecosystem for women-led growth. We hope to see you next year at the Women’s Capital Summit 2026.
