Female Fellowship program: Helping female entrepreneurs to scale their companies globally
The number of women taking up managerial roles has been growing lately, however, it still needs a lot of improvement. In 2021, 31% of all senior management positions are occupied by females according to a recent Grant Thompson report. The BIH community is dedicated to supporting female entrepreneurship in Bulgaria. We help their efforts to expand globally by connecting them with clients, investors, and partners in the USA. That’s why our mentors Austin Arensberg and Lidiya Dervisheva welcomed to the United States two Bulgarian female founders - Maya Zlatanova, Co-founder and CEO of FindMeCure, and Iva Gumnishka, Founder and CEO of Humans in the Loop. The Female Fellowship Entrepreneur initiative is supported by the German Marshall Fund in collaboration with the Bulgaria Innovation Hub.
Connecting the Bulgarian and US ecosystems
The Female Entrepreneur Fellowship program provided Iva and Maya with the freedom to create their own schedule based on their strategic priorities and interests but also organized several networking events in order to introduce the fellows to the local ecosystem.
Iva Gumnishka points out that her most memorable experience through the fellowship program is a meeting she had with procurement manager at a large technology company. “It was the best client meeting I’ve ever had: we had lunch on the patio under the shade, we discussed trends in the market, we shared insights and opinions… Having the opportunity to meet in person and share this pleasant experience was exceptional for me”, Gumnishka explains.
“My most memorable moments during the program were my conversations with fellow female entrepreneur Iva. We had the time to exchange know-how and just emphasize on all challenges that we go through while building our businesses”, Maya Zlatanova points out. “Another very important thing for me was the Taco Tuesday party hosted for us and at the same time bringing all sorts of people who work in the region, either building companies or investing in such. It was nice and helpful to have just normal conversations with everyone and discuss trends and challenges,” she adds.
BIH’s support for female entrepreneurs
Our aim is to build a bridge between Bulgaria and USA by empowering tech entrepreneurs to scale their startups on the global markets. So this initiative by the Marshall Fund is a perfect opportunity to create an environment where female entrepreneurs could learn from the experienced professionals in the Silicon Valley and build connections with key players in the tech industry.
“Having an immediately supportive network like the Bulgarian Innovation Hub in Silicon Valley significantly increases the chance for successful meaningful relationships that can lead to funding. Oftentimes these networks can seem distant and inaccessible for any founders and more so for folks who are typically underrepresented. Bulgarian Innovation Hub is able to fill gaps and ensure that there are equal opportunities for founders from all backgrounds in Bulgaria to have the opportunity to raise capital in the US”, shares Austin Arensberg, Senior Director at Octa Ventures and mentor in the BIH’s Growth Accelerator.
He shines the light on the importance of those connections with the USA, especially when looking for funding. According to him, finance can sometimes feel like it's about the business, spreadsheets, or a pitch deck but in the end, it's fundamentally about relationships and trust. BIH fosters an environment for mentorship, meaningful connections, and support. Members have ample opportunities to meet and do those helpful nudges that result in additional connections that can prove valuable. There is a pay-it-forward culture in the BIH community that enables both newcomers and folks who have been in the tech industry a long time to benefit from each other.
Iva points out the valuable support she received from BIH’s CEO Pavlina. Her close collaboration with Austin and Lidiya in order to organize networking events which would be helpful for us was very important. I was fortunate to be part of both the BIH Accelerator and the Female Founders fellowship program at the same time so I was able to connect with a lot of our mentors in-person. I have also been able to put everything that we are learning in the accelerator into practice immediately in my meetings with investors and clients here.
Importance for the community
These opportunities open the doors to the global markets for the participants, but also for the whole community in the SEE. Through such initiatives Bulgarian entrepreneurs represent our country at the international level and show globally that we can build high-quality products for the global market.
“The Bay Area is still the biggest tech hub in the world and the pandemic has not changed this much, so it’s still very important to have a strong presence here. We also shouldn’t discount the importance of in-person communication which has become a scarce and valuable commodity nowadays!
Building a great community in the SEE can happen through more access to funding and investment vehicles focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. In the US, it’s common to see investment funds with an explicit mandate to fund women and people of color and to lower the barriers that they face in terms of access to networks, resources and capital”, says Iva Gumnishka.