Beacon Fund: The financing solution that works for promising women-owned businesses

It is now well recognized that the rise in female entrepreneurship will spur innovation, and generate novel solutions to the problems we face. Around the world, societies continue to evolve, opening up to the new role of women in their family, community and society as a whole. Increasingly, policy makers are issuing new laws that address the unique needs of women, enabling them to safely and confidently start, operate and grow their businesses. A substantial potential economic gain that still remains untapped.

Whilst this is something I love to celebrate, the truth is that women entrepreneurs still face gender-based challenges of their own. Tackling those challenges overtook my full-time focus over the last decade through my organization Woomentum.

During these years, I’ve had the privilege to meet hundreds of the countless brave and promising women entrepreneurs in the region, particularly in Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. In fact, in our most recent research, we conducted in-depth interviews with 86 Women-owned Small to Medium size Enterprises. Our findings showed that amongst the hurdles they needed to overcome as businesses, access to financing ranked highest. This was neither surprising nor unexpected.

Despite all the advances in alternative finance such as Peer-to-Peer lending and the various gender focused funding support (both private and public), we are still miles away from levelling the playing field. Numerous promising women-owned companies still struggle to secure funding.

I must admit, at times, I felt discouraged and powerless. Offering a platform to support women entrepreneurs to access networks and new skills through Woomentum was impactful but insufficient.

And then I met Shuyin Tang in the summer of 2020. Sharp and determined, she shared about the new groundbreaking Fund she had founded: the Beacon Fund! It was a bold move, putting private debt to work to fuel the growth of cash-flow-positive women-owned companies. These companies didn’t necessarily fit the VC nor the banks funding criteria. As Shuyin explains it, the ‘missing middle’. This move was backed by over a decade of solid experience in impact investing in the region. I immediately knew that this would be a game changer in the ecosystem of women-owned businesses.

Numerous promising women-owned companies still struggle to secure funding.

In October 2020, I joined a passionate, unstoppable team at Beacon Fund. As a part-time Venture Partner, my role is to help grow the deal pipeline, build the brand and to develop the Technical Assistance (TA) program for Beacon’s portfolio companies. The TA program aims to bridge capability gaps such as Financial Management and leadership skills.

Now more than ever, we need to invest in women. I am excited to take part in the solution that Beacon Fund is offering. Sometimes it comes down to serendipitous meetings and to the will of making a difference. Together!