Venture firm Ada Ventures has introduced a new scheme to cover the cost of up to 40 hours of back-up childcare each year for its employees and founders in its portfolio.
Launched as of this month, the offering will be delivered via childcare provider Bubble and can be spent on any of its services, including verified babysitters, night nannies or holiday clubs.
The scheme will be carried out as a two-year pilot and will include a review after the first year to ensure the structure and offering is working. The firm will gather data throughout to measure the impact the scheme has had.
Ada will also introduce guidance for its portfolio firms around parental leave by creating a roadmap to help founders design maternity and paternity policies that work for them, and to foster positive conversations with investors around parental leave.
According to the firm, it designed the scheme to cover the gaps created by childcare arrangements falling through and to alleviate an additional financial burden for early-stage founders who happen to be parents. Its aim is for the offering to benefit its whole portfolio by helping to reduce an industry barrier that disproportionately affects women.
Check Warner, co-founding partner at Ada Ventures, said: “We’ve worked hard to create a culture which champions diversity and creates a level playing field for entrepreneurs looking to raise capital and scale brilliant ideas into thriving businesses. We don’t believe being or becoming a parent should put founders at a disadvantage.
“This childcare offering is a crucial step forward in our commitment to being truly inclusive venture firms that enable every founder to reach their full potential. We want to set an example about how an organisation can embrace parenthood by actively encouraging and supporting parents in our team, portfolio and wider community.”