‘Doing things with other people is new for me’

IF ANYONE can change a game, it’s Serena Williams.The most successful female tennis player in history, with 23 Grand Slam titles and four Olympic Golds to her name, her grit, endurance and focus is legendary. And now, Williams is channelling those gifts into a new but arguably even more demanding game: investing in life-changing, female-led solutions for a world in which half the population still lacks access to basic healthcare and hygiene. 

Williams’ transition from sports icon to entrepreneur has been surprisingly seamless — perhaps because, growing up on the unforgiving streets of Compton, California, she learned at an early age to rely on herself. “I’ve been an entrepreneur for as long as I can remember,” she said at yester- day’s Reckitt seminar, Impact Innovators: Building a Healthier World. “I defined myself as that before it was even a thing. I showed up every day and I worked for myself, so I had to make my own way.” 

Sheila Redzepi, Reckitt’s chief communications and corporate affairs officer, used yesterday’s Cannes Lions platform to unveil the latest initiative from the consumer-goods giant, Reckitt Catalyst, which has set itself the task of delivering life-saving health and hygiene solutions to five million-plus people around the world by 2030. To achieve this, it will be backing some 200 entrepreneurs and start-ups, the vast majority of them women. Williams has been named Catalyst’s first ‘entrepreneur in residence’ and has pledged €2m to the programme.

Noting that, globally, 90% of frontline healthcare is delivered by women, Williams said: “We have this opportunity to really support the women who are making big changes in their communities.”

That support will go beyond funding to including mentoring and practical advice, she added: “Our job is to empower these women to come up with fresh ideas that really move the needle. It’s going to be really cool and really impactful.” Catherine Casey Nanda, managing partner of early-stage investor Acumen America, said that, currently, only 2% of venture-capital funding goes to female entrepreneurs, despite the fact that women-led start-ups consistently out-perform their male-led counterparts.

She is optimistic that Williams’ global profile will help drive the “urgent change” that’s needed to address this imbalance: “We’ve seen Serena’s impact,” she said. “She can uniquely take this message to a wider audience and champion real change.” 

As for Williams, building a collective of like-minded change-makers dedicated to improving the wellbeing of the world has been energising, exciting — and different. “Tennis is a solo sport,” she said. “It’s about taking everything for yourself, winning and killing. So doing things with other people is new for me... But I love it. I love the relationships we’re building.”