Level 20

What Level 20 does

Level 20 is a London-headquartered, pan-European not-for-profit industry body established to increase representation of senior women in private equity and venture capital investment roles. Its stated target is to raise women to at least 20% of senior investment positions across the industry, and the organization structures its activity around four service pillars: Professional Network, Career Development, Research & Insight, and Industry Engagement. Career Development includes structured mentoring programmes (Emerging Talent Group, Lead Self, Lead Others, and the VC Programme) plus outreach products such as the Dutch PE Academy, while Research & Insight produces a proprietary dataset covering 20,000+ investment professionals across 15 European countries with plans to expand to 20 by 2026, alongside recurring gender diversity and family leave reports.

The organization operates a sponsorship-funded business model: individual membership is free for anyone working in PE or VC, and the operating budget is funded by over 120 General Partner and Limited Partner sponsor firms. Distribution is digital-first via dedicated Member, Sponsor, and Careers portals, supplemented by 13 volunteer-led international committees across 20 European countries (Belgium, CEE, DACH, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, the Nordics, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the UK). Research collaborations with academic and philanthropic partners — including Columbia Business School, the London School of Economics' Inclusion Initiative, Three Cairns Group, and YSC Consulting — extend the organization's data footprint into the US market and reinforce its credibility as the reference industry body in this niche.

Level 20's core assets are its proprietary dataset, its mentor-matching programmes, and its pan-European volunteer committee network rather than any technology product. There is no evidence of a software platform, API, or AI/ML capability; the operating model is community-led, with growth driven by chapter expansion, mentoring cohort throughput, sponsor recruitment, and serial publication of country-specific research reports.

Name

Level 20

Legal name

Level 20

Website

https://level20.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Level 20 is a London-based not-for-profit industry body that runs mentoring, research, and networking programmes to increase the representation of senior women in European private equity and venture capital, funded by 120+ GP and LP sponsors across 13 chapters in 20 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Equity Industry Body

NAICS

Professional Organizations (813920), Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

DEI, Equity & Inclusion Advisory (BPACAJAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD), Institutional Capacity Building & Training (Workforce/Systems Strengthening) (BPADAEAC)

Keywords

• Private equity diversity
• Gender diversity research
• Industry mentoring programs
• PE career development
• Venture capital inclusion

Headquarters

HQ city

Frankfurt

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Sponsorship: Level 20 operates as a not-for-profit organization funded entirely through sponsorship from General Partners (GPs) and Limited Partners (LPs) in the private equity and venture capital industry. Individual membership is free; sponsors fund the four core initiatives: Professional Network, Career Development, Research & Insight, and Industry Engagement.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Level 20 is a not-for-profit industry body providing free individual membership to women in private equity and venture capital across Europe. The organization delivers four core initiatives — Professional Network, Career Development, Research & Insight, and Industry Engagement — funded by 120+ GP and LP sponsor firms. It operates through 13 international chapters spanning 20 countries, serving 7,250+ members with mentoring programmes, gender diversity research, and industry convening activities.

Product overview

Level 20 is a not-for-profit organization serving as the leading industry body for women in private equity across Europe. The organization offers a unified membership platform with four core service pillars: Professional Network, Career Development, Research & Insight, and Industry Engagement. Under Career Development, it delivers structured mentoring programmes including The Emerging Talent Group Programme, The Lead Self Programme, The Lead Others Programme, and The VC Programme (country-specific variants exist, such as The Dutch PE Academy for university outreach). Research & Insight produces annual European Gender Diversity Reports and Family Leave Research across multiple countries. Individual membership is free, funded by over 120 GP and LP sponsors, with 7,250+ members across 13 European chapters in 20 countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Dutch PE Academy: An annual two-day outreach programme launched in 2021 for final year female university students in the Netherlands, introducing private equity as a career option.
• Emerging Talent Group Programme
• Lead Self Programme
• Lead Others Programme
• VC Programme

Products and services

• Professional Network

Quantifiable outcome

• 18% of Netherlands-based investment professionals are women in 2025, up from 15% in 2023
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• NVP (Nederlandse Vereniging van Participatiemaatschappijen)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 May 2025NVP, the Dutch private equity association, partnered with Level 20's Netherlands Chapter to deliver the Netherlands Diversity Report 2025.
• Columbia Business SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2024Level 20 collaborated with Columbia Business School (Professor Michael Ewens and the Private Equity Program) and Three Cairns Group to produce the Female Investment Professionals in US Private Equity report - the largest published dataset of US PE investment professionals tracking women's representation across more than 600 firms.
• Three Cairns GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2024Three Cairns Group, a philanthropic investment firm focused on climate crisis and gender equity in private equity, co-produced the Female Investment Professionals in US Private Equity report alongside Level 20 and Columbia Business School.
• The Inclusion Initiative (LSE)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 June 2023Level 20 partnered with The Inclusion Initiative at the London School of Economics to produce the ACCELERATE report, which helps firms understand headwinds and tailwinds women encounter before making Partner and proposes a framework for implementing change.
• YSC ConsultingminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 June 2023YSC Consulting partnered with Level 20 on the Reaping the rewards of retention report, focusing on insights from senior-level women in the industry.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Diversity Project: UK-based membership initiative driving inclusion and diversity across the investment and savings industry. Highly comparable mission and member-based model serving investment professionals, though cross-asset (not PE/VC-specific) and UK-only.
• 100 Women in Finance: Global non-profit membership organization focused on advancing women in alternative investments and finance, with similar mission, mentoring programs, and industry research. The closest direct comparable to Level 20 in mission, structure, and target audience, though broader in scope (covers hedge funds, private credit, etc.) and headquartered in the US.
• Girls Who Invest: US-based non-profit that runs scholarship and training programmes to increase women's representation in investment management, with similar pipeline/mentoring approach. Comparable as a gender-diversity-in-investing industry body, though more focused on asset management entry-level pipeline than senior PE progression.

Regional players

• France Invest: French PE/VC industry association, with membership-based structure and research activity. Comparable as a European PE industry body that Level 20's France chapter engages with, though broader in remit and country-restricted.
• NVP (Nederlandse Vereniging van Participatiemaatschappijen): Dutch PE industry association that partnered with Level 20 on the Netherlands Diversity Report 2025. Comparable as a regional PE industry body, though broader in mandate and local to the Netherlands.
• AVCA (African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association): Pan-African PE/VC industry body running events, research, and policy work. Comparable industry-association model for PE/VC, but operating in Africa rather than Europe, and not diversity-specific.

Others

• 2X Global: Industry organization for gender lens investing, mobilizing capital toward gender equality. Thematically related to Level 20's gender-equity mission in finance, but focused on capital deployment rather than career pipelines, and globally oriented rather than PE-specific.

Broad incumbents

• British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA): The principal UK PE/VC industry body, representing the broad PE/VC community including on policy, research, and talent. Comparable as a pan-PE membership organization running research and policy engagement, though much larger, member-fee funded, and not specifically focused on gender diversity.
• SEO (Sponsors for Educational Opportunity): Established non-profit running career development and mentoring programmes for underrepresented groups into finance, including alternative investments. Comparable mission in finance diversity pipelines, but with a broader remit spanning multiple under-represented groups and more entry-level focus.

Emerging players

• Out Investors: Network for LGBTQ+ professionals and allies in venture capital and private equity, with similar mentoring and community-building approach. Comparable as an underrepresented-group industry body in PE/VC, but focused on LGBTQ+ rather than gender, and at a much earlier stage.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/level20pe
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/level20

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Level 20