Funding gap, gender bias against female founders persist in South-east Asia

KATHERINA-OLIVIA Lacey, co-founder of Singapore-based startup Quincus, is one of the few female founders in the supply-chain sector here - and she is more than familiar with the biases that women entrepreneurs can face.

"When starting out, some investors did not see me as equal to my male co-founder; there've been many stories where I wasn't (seen as) part of the leadership," recounted Lacey, who is the startup's chief product officer.

She also noted that female founders can face harsher scrutiny on their plans to start a family. "I don't think that should be a reason why a VC should or should not invest," she said.