Episode #2: Women who Invest & Investing in Women
Featuring Dr Melissa Foo Suyin (MBAN), Xelia Tong (ScaleUp Malaysia) and Elain Lockman (Ata Plus)
FEMALE INVESTORS DR MELISSA FOO, XELIA TONG AND ELAIN LOCKMAN 👩🏻
Continuing on from our first podcast, we take a closer look at an inequity occurring in the startup and VC world. Here’s what prominent Malaysian female investors Dr Melissa Foo Suyin (Vice President of the Malaysian Business Angel Network), Xelia Tong (Managing Partner of ScaleUp Malaysia) and Elain Lockman (CEO and Co-Founder of equity crowdfunding platform Ata Plus) had to say about the lack of female representation on the cap table and our thoughts on why that narrative has to change. Happy listening!
Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts:
Episode also available on:
🍎 Apple Podcasts (subscribe for free while you’re at it! 😉)
🏠 The Bawatana Podcast (full episode transcript available here)
EPISODE NOTES
They say it’s a man’s world - yet according to Crunchbase, research has proven that despite female-led businesses generating greater returns than male-led businesses, only 2.3% of all VC funding go towards women. Some say women lack confidence, some say women are discriminated against. Our hypothesis is - could it be that the reason more male founders raise funding is simply because there are more male funders? According to Deal Street Asia, that seems to ring true as they have found 73% of VC firms in Southeast Asia don't have a single woman investment partner. This issue has sparked an industry-wide (and dare we say worldwide) debate on the lack of female representation on the cap table leading to fewer female founders receiving funding.
In this episode, we speak with three prominent Malaysian female investors Dr Melissa Foo Suyin (Vice President of the Malaysian Business Angel Network), Xelia Tong (Managing Partner of ScaleUp Malaysia) and Elain Lockman (CEO and Co-Founder of equity crowdfunding platform Ata Plus) as we discuss why women aren’t able to break into the investment scene, why women investors deserve to be at the cap table and their contribution towards better supporting women investors and founders.
We’d also like to thank our fellow female founders and special guests: