L’Oréal Launches Fund Backing Female-founded Start-ups
PARIS — L’Oréal has initiated a fund that will invest in start-ups launched by female entrepreneurs.
The world’s largest beauty maker said Wednesday evening it is kicking off the L’Oréal BOLD Female Founders initiative, which will be developed by the group’s venture capital fund, called BOLD Business Opportunities for L’Oréal Development. The new fund will initially be backed by 25 million euros.
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Its focus will be on brands, beauty tech, biotech and green science, according to L’Oréal.
“L’Oréal has for many years been committed to women’s empowerment, through numerous programs and initiatives of the L’Oréal Foundation, such as L’Oréal UNESCO For Women in Science and Women for Climate. BOLD Female Founders aims at promoting the venture funding of women entrepreneurship that remains at an unbelievably low level. By addressing the inequalities that passionate women founders face in their entrepreneurial journey, we bring our sense of purpose to life: create the beauty that moves the world,” said Nicolas Hieronimus, chief executive officer of L’Oréal, in a statement.
“Today, 30 percent of the start-ups of our BOLD venture capital fund are led by women. With BOLD Female Founders, we want to accelerate our venture capital investment to support female entrepreneurship,” he added.
“A more inclusive venture capital industry means more opportunities for underrepresented female entrepreneurs,” continued Gouzelle Ishmatova, BOLD chief strategy officer. “As a matter of fact, start-ups led by women attract less funding, yet they consistently outperform. With BOLD Female Founders, we want to be a game changer by investing in the creativity and talent of the next generation of female entrepreneurs.”
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