About Astia

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Our origins | What brings us to today

In 1999, Astia was created with one mission in mind: to help female innovators succeed. We provided access to capital, business expertise and one-on-one advising opportunities, aimed at developing the entrepreneur as a whole. Fourteen years later, Astia has watched over 4,500 talented women create, float or exit their own companies, and the goal remains the same.

We are committed to the idea that female participation in high-growth industries has a positive impact upon innovation, economy and society. We also continue to believe that gender diversity is a socioeconomic necessity, without which creativity and overall economic productivity are severely compromised.


After working with female entrepreneurs for over a decade, Astia realized the best way to support these innovators involved a shift in company strategy. While business expertise and one-on-one advising was helpful, the most basic entrepreneurial need was access to capital.

Combined with tailored, startup-specific advice - such as pitch coaching - the Astia screening process evolved into a targeted funding program with a focus on the most essential items of the entrepreneurial process. This precise technique better equips Astia’s decentralized activity network, which today can be found around the globe. This change also makes the support of the 5000+ entrepreneurs, investors and industry leaders of the curated, global Astia community more meaningful for the female innovator.

Thank you for being central to this journey!

1 comment:

  1. Thank you! Absolutely inspiring. Finally someone who gets it. I am a grownup in the startup world (50 yr old single mom) in a healthcare accelerator in Europe. Good insights to help shape the program for future women participants. Yes, it is more enriching with men and women at the table, even better if it could be a more equal number in the mix and diverse in race and backgrounds. You really made me rethink the idea of a woman focused accelerator, better to change the current models springing up that are "hoodie, flipflop" focused and with terrible schedules for moms. Like you I love my red wrap dress! Thank you.

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