A Female Founders program is set to provide new opportunities for Queensland’s entrepreneurial women to grow their startup enterprises.

Coordinated by Impact Innovation Group and supported through the Queensland Government’s Advance Queensland initiative, the program will deliver a series of collaboration events to help female startups take their business to the next level.

According to last year’s Startup Muster survey, which provides a comprehensive snapshot of Australia’s startup ecosystem, only 22.3% of founders are women.

Innovation Minister Kate Jones said providing the right opportunities for women to upskill was key to increasing the number of female-led startups across the state.

“Through programs like the Female Founders Program, we can provide the support and tools for women to help them overcome the challenges of building up a scalable business,” Ms Jones said.

Impact Innovation’s Female Founders Program Manager, Kellie Dyer, said a collaborative approach will drive the initiative’s success.

“Impact Innovation Group is proud to be working with Advisory Board Centre, who is also a delivery partner for the Female Founders program, said Ms Dyer.

“We’re determined to raise the confidence of Queensland’s female founders to pursue the investment opportunities and global markets that open up when their startup ventures have robust strategies and experienced advisors supporting them,” she said.

“It’s important that the women working on Queensland-based startups have a say in what the program delivers, if the goal of increasing female participation rates and improving their business skills is to be achieved,” Ms Dyer said.

In supporting the collaborative approach of this program, a workshop was held in late May 2019, attended by a representative group of South East Queensland founders, and their regional colleagues via Zoom. During the workshop Female Founders shared ideas on topics they want to know more about. Their input will enhance four key program elements:

•    Personalised Pathways for charting a course of actions based on each founder’s aspirations
•    Learning Links for sourcing educational and motivational content
•    Mentor Match to connect with the right advice and support at different stages
•    PropelHer and BoostHer events to meet and learn from industry experts and other founders

“There will be events across Queensland with online and technology-enabled options to support the many inspirational female founders who are not based in Brisbane,” said Ms Dyer.

“We will work with program participants to ensure we can connect with them regardless of their location.”

A free webinar to introduce the program is scheduled for noon on Monday 24 June.

Queensland startups with women at the helm who would like to learn more about the Female Founders Program activities that Impact Innovation is coordinating can be found here. 

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