In 2018 Black founders secured just 0.23% of venture funds, according to data from Extend Ventures. That share of the market for the minority group has increased little since then.
"Fundraising is phenomenally difficult," Ofori told CNBC."I try not to think about it, because it gets you down... It's like your gender and the color of your skin is the reason why you're not progressing as fast as other people."Ofori was one of a small number of Black founders in the U.K. who eventually secured funding for their businesses. But Black founders overall received just 0.
Sarah Wernér, who co-founded property management company Husmus with her Swedish husband Mattias Wernér, said some VC firms subscribe to quotas and turn down Black founders once they've hit their threshold. Other VC companies will pit Black founders against each other to compete for the limited funding allocated to them, Wernér said.
"If the ICs reflect more of a diverse lens, then there can be a more well-rounded consideration of the propositions being evaluated and decided upon" Lokko said."So yes, more diversity, but more diversity that's actually in the sea of decision-making as far as where money will be allocated.
Even when the people who previously rejected her became interested, Ofori decided to focus on tapping into her own community and network to move forward.