Reports, events and research on women in VC

The European venture capital (VC) market is navigating a turbulent period. Despite a few bright spots, the fundraising environment is incredibly tough. Transaction activity has hit its lowest point in years, hindered by geopolitical uncertainties and sluggish economic growth.

Europe builds outstanding technology companies, but it lacks the capital, and the willingness to take risks, needed to help those companies scale at home. That is the view of venture fund manager and investor Kinga Stanisławska, founder of European Women in VC. Pension funds, she argues, can play a critical role in changing this. But doing so requires both courage and a different perspective on diversity.

Pension Fund Investments into Venture, the Fund of Funds Perspective

Pension Fund Investments into Venture, Pension Funds Perspective

Kasia Piasecki took the stage with Ian Conotty from British Business Bank and asked the question: How can pension capital participate in venture and growth without compromising its responsibility to beneficiaries?

Sella Venture Partners, the investment arm of Italy's leading banking group, deploys a generalist approach to backing early-stage venture funds across Europe and North America.

Dutch pension funds must deploy capital into European scale-ups to compete with US venture venture investment gaps and build institutional advantage.

Kinga Stanislawska discussed pension funds' critical role in EU competitiveness financing at EU Finance Day 2026, exploring how institutional investors can unlock venture capital for Europe's green and digital transformation.

Investinor, the Norwegian government's investment arm, is betting on first- and second-time fund managers to mature the country's young venture ecosystem. Investment Director Johan Bøe Bjørkevoll explains why power law returns are a feature, not a flaw, and how Norway's tech sector is shifting from serving domestic industries like energy and fisheries toward building for global markets.

In June, WomenInvestEU 2026 brought together over 200 European investors in Brussels to spotlight women and allies driving change in the investment ecosystem. Kinga Stanisławska joined a panel on reimagining a more inclusive investment landscape, alongside conversations with Merete Clausen, Maive Rute, Agnieszka Wojdyr and Caroline Bergaut.

A London Tech Week panel featuring HSBC Innovation Banking, Atomico and EWVC's president Kinga explored the state of European and UK venture capital. Key takeaways: deal sizes are up 40% year on year, dealmaking speed has returned, and capital is flowing to high-quality AI and deep tech companies that built strong fundamentals during the downturn.

Reuters NEXT Europe brought its first invitation-only leadership summit to London on June 16, 2026, joining the series' established gatherings in New York, Singapore and Abu Dhabi. Drawing on Reuters' global newsroom, the day covered geopolitics, markets, AI, climate and business leadership at a pivotal moment for Europe.

During SuperReturn week in Berlin, European Women in VC hosted The Investor's Table, an intimate LP-GP lunch co-hosted by Goodwin and the European Investment Fund. The two-hour gathering brought together a curated group of investors for candid, unhurried dialogue rarely found on a packed conference agenda.

Invest-NL Chief Business Officer Jellie Banga explains how the Dutch national promotional institution plugs Europe's growth-stage "missing middle" - backing scaling companies and 50+ VC funds while mobilising private capital alongside public funding, across climate tech, life sciences, agrifoods, and deeptech.

Alex Seddon, Head of Impact & Private Equity at M&G Investments, discusses how M&G Catalyst is backing European scale-ups with growth capital while driving measurable impact across climate, healthcare, inclusion, and technology.