Women entrepreneur mentorship network Astia to form a Fund and Angel Network in early 2013.
By Angie Chang (Co-Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Women 2.0)

In a message from CEO Sharon Vosmek this morning, we learned that high-growth woman entrepreneur accelerator program Astia will be adding capital to their existing programming in early 2013.

The additions will be an Astia Fund, a fund used to invest in “best-of-breed” companies from the Astia program, and an Astia Angel Network of individual investors, also committed to investing in “best-of-breed” Astia companies.

Both the Fund and the Angel group will pursue above-market investor returns. Astia will continue to be committed to increasing the number of women-led companies raising capital via the Astia Global Entrepreneur Program with the assistance of 2000+ Astia advisors globally.

“Essentially we are taking what we have been perfecting for the past 13 years – and that which has produced a greater than 60% funding success rate for the companies selected – and adding our own capital to the mix,” said Astia CEO Sharon Vosmek.

Research indicates that if women were to fully participate in high-growth entrepreneurship, we would see a significant and measurable benefit to the economy, innovation, and society. Astia’s mission is to provide access to the networks and expertise that women high-growth entrepreneurs need to succeed, and ultimately to impact today’s global economy.

Angie Chang is Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of Women 2.0, a media company offering content, community and conferences for aspiring and current women innovators in technology. Our mission is to increase the number of female founders of technology startups with inspiration, information and education through our platform. Previously, Angie held roles in product management and web UI design. Angie holds a B.A. in English and Social Welfare from UC Berkeley. Follow her on Twitter at @thisgirlangie.