Tenity: Women in Climate Fintech Outpacing Industry
Women founders secure more than 50% of early-stage climate fintech funding – that’s 15 times higher than in broader fintech.
Tenity’s 2024 Global Climate Fintech Report shows that in pre-Series B funding rounds during 2022-2023, companies with at least one woman founder or CEO secured more than half of funding reported.
In the broader fintech sector, women-led companies typically receive just 3.4% of venture funding.
The report also shows women have co-founded or led one third of all climate fintechs, and this figure rose to 45% in companies founded in 2023.
Women face a “triple glass ceiling” and face sexist culture in the field according to research from the University of Manchester and National University of Singapore.
Andreas Iten, Co-Founder and CEO at Tenity, says: “One notable development is the rise of female founders in Climate Fintech.
“While less startups were founded in 2023 compared to the previous year, the percentage of companies with at least one female founder has increased significantly, reaching 45%, marking a promising shift toward gender balance in the sector.”
What is climate fintech?
Climate fintech is financial technology that can be used to address and adapt to climate change, supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy.
These solutions aim to manage risks, support efficiency gains and inform choices through functions like ESG data reporting, green investing and tools for tracking carbon footprints.
With both individuals and financial institutions looking to reduce sustainability-related risks, climate fintechs are emerging around the world.
New regulations are also requiring companies to report climate-related risks, so climate fintech can support compliance with these.
Tenity's 2024 Global Climate Fintech Report
Tenity’s report, using data from 750 worldwide start-ups, shows a major shift in climate fintech venture funding patterns.
Whilst the broader venture capital market has experienced a 38% drop, Europe has held relatively strong with a decline of just 2.2%.
The UK, Germany and France, referred to as a “power triangle”, controls 65% of the entire EMEA capital and represents 50% of companies.
Tenity says that Europe's advanced climate legislation is driving rapid growth in ESG data and analytics solutions, as many organisations cite regulatory reporting as a key capability.
Among the 106 companies offering regulatory reporting functionality, more than 90% are ESG data providers.
The report shows 70% of these reporting solutions are concentrated in the European market where the CSRD and SFDR are creating demand for solutions.
Tenity says that whilst Europe’s climate fintech sector is building solid foundations, it lacks maturity.
Only 17 companies across the region have raised more than US$50m of total capital, compared to 23 in the US.
Andrea Fritschi, Chief Investment Officer at Tenity, says: "Climate fintech is not just showing remarkable resilience - it's setting new standards for inclusion in venture funding.
“With blockchain technology applied to ensure accountability in carbon markets and AI tapped for real-time climate risk assessment, the sector proves that innovation and gender equality can go hand-in-hand.
“While Europe leads in diversity and early-stage innovation, the challenge now is matching US capabilities in scaling these solutions globally."
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