We are thrilled and proud to announce that San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer presented Dr. Silvia Mah a $30,000 grant for Hera Labs, the non-profit business accelerator for female entrepreneurs.
Dr. Mah, founder of Hera Labs, said that, “women contribute significantly to San Diego’s startup ecosystem and we’re honored that the City of San Diego is helping to sustain and grow opportunities for female-led startups.”
Mayor Faulconer presented the grant last night at our Sorrento Valley location. “This grant will honor Hera Labs and the female entrepreneurs that Hera Labs has helped and will help into the future,” he said. “Having the network of support that Hera Labs has will give our female entrepreneurs that already start businesses here in San Diego the head start and the advantage they need to grow.”
The grant will allow Hera Labs to continue its mission of educating, advocating and empowering San Diego women to launch or scale their businesses.
The grant presentation was captured live on the Hera Labs Facebook Page.
According to a recent article in Forbes, the number of female founders who sought and received funding decreased by 20 percent in 2015. Yet, according to a report by seed-stage venture firm First Round, “companies with a female founder are 63 percent more capital efficient than investments with all-male founding teams.”
“Women are opening more businesses than ever before, but not enough women are getting the funding they need,” Dr. Mah, said. “Our goal is to provide women, especially in the CaliBaja region, with access to educational and financial resources that will help them move forward in their businesses.”
Dr. Mah was interviewed on local news network CW6 and had more to say on the subject of female investing:
To date, Hera Labs has helped launch more than 70 startups, grow more than 100 small businesses, and create more than 80 jobs in San Diego.
