Who We Are

FOUNDED IN 2015,

Connecting Founders began as a platform to offer networking and mentoring opportunities to female entrepreneurs. Through working directly with many women-led businesses, it became clear that access to capital and absence of investment readiness services were consistent key growth challenges.

IN 2018,

Connecting Founders made the pivotal decision to establish an advisory arm, serving to bridge this funding gap for women entrepreneurs. We work with female founders to structure tailored funding plans and match them with like-minded capital to help them scale their businesses.

We believe in the power of investing in women. Whether we are supporting women to scale up their businesses, advance in their careers, or become first time investors – giving women more voice and decision-making power is critical to building healthy businesses and sustainable and resilient economies.

OUR TEAM

Since 2015, we have undertaken projects in 15 countries across Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

We are a diverse team of international gender finance specialists with a deep network of local, regional and global funders and entrepreneurs.

Our strength lies in understanding the needs of both international funders and companies and the challenges involved in gender inclusion and gender lens investing.

Our goal is to build a stronger female economy and create a business sector that is more responsive to different needs, more diverse in decision-making, and more inclusive in resource allocation.

Meet the Founder

Caterina MELONI

Founder

Caterina is a gender finance specialist with over 20 years of experience in inclusive finance, women’s entrepreneurship, and gender lens investing. She works at the crossroads of finance and gender by demystifying gender lens strategies for businesses and mainstreaming gender risks in investment frameworks.

Caterina supports development partners and government bodies in integrating a gender and climate lens across a range of private and public sector programs (finance, infrastructure, agriculture) in a way that is pragmatic, cost-effective, and relevant to local business sectors. Similarly, she advises private companies and financial institutions in designing and implementing simple yet effective gender & inclusion strategies.

Prior to founding Connecting Founders, Caterina worked for leading international development institutions, such as the World Bank and IFC, to design and execute projects in over 35 countries. She holds an M.A. in International Relations and Economics from The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

Caterina is an angel investor and a frequent mentor & speaker at events to support women entrepreneurs and advance gender lens investing in Southeast Asia.

WHY WE DO IT

We believe in the power of investing in women. Whether we are supporting women to scale up their businesses, advance in their careers, or become first time investors – giving women more voice and decision-making power is critical to building healthy businesses and sustainable economies.

Female founders face significant barriers in the investing ecosystem and continue to access only a small portion of total capital allocated to early-stage and growth-stage businesses. With over 1.7 million female SMEs across Southeast Asia’s key markets, there is an estimated need to provide at least USD 40 billion in expansion or working capital to over 150,000 women-owned businesses. We work to overcome gender biases in the investing world to give financing power to the right entrepreneurs.

Similarly, women face multiple challenges in the workplace and continue to be under-represented in leadership and decision-making roles across all sectors. Gender issues are complex and often companies struggle to reconcile their business priorities with enhancing diversity & inclusion and effectively supporting their female employees.

We guide and support companies in this process to identify solutions that work for them, step by step. Advancing gender diversity requires a long-term commitment and we work with companies to set ambitious yet realistic goals.

WHO WE ARE