Ministry of Awesome and PledgeMe - 'Fund Female Founders' 13 March 2025

Join Our 'Fund Female Founders' Investment Showcase - 13 March 2025!

Funding is one of the most significant hurdles women face when scaling their businesses. And with your support, we're changing that. 

We’ve helped 9 women-led companies successfully raise just under $700k across our two previous events, with a 75% success rate of those that launched.  We want to do it again for International Women’s Day this year.

The teams behind Ministry of Awesome and PledgeMe have joined forces again to launch a group of women-led crowdfunding campaigns on Thursday, 13 March, and we invite you to join us live as we celebrate, support, and fund these remarkable women.

How’s it going to work?

This is an online event where we'll be unveiling and celebrating some exceptional campaigns throughout the hour, ranging from investment rounds to rewards-based crowdfunding*. 

By registering for this event, you will be in the “room” with these inspiring women, hearing their stories, getting your questions answered, and learning a bit as well. 

THE SHOWCASE LINEUP

Lou Giles - MorningCider

Founder and Co-Director, Lou Giles, is a Morningside local, also having lived or worked in 'the hood for over 15 years.

Lou owns Husk, the design agency behind the Morningcider brand (along with related hospo entities Crave, Kind, Side Hustle and Phat Philly’s) and brings her brand background and design know-how to the Morningcider group. 

For seven years, MorningCider have been crafting the most innovative, award-winning ciders in Aotearoa. But, without the funds to spread the word, THEIR cider secrets have been kept under wraps. They have been a small player in the cider industry but now want to be the biggest and dominate the NZ market. Globally, the thirst for NZ cider is real, and there’s around $1 billion in export opportunities ripe for the picking. 

MorningCider is raising $1 million to take on those opportunities.

Wendy Quach - & Again

& Again is an online consignment and thrift store making secondhand shopping easy. Founded by Wendy Quach, who is passionate about making secondhand fashion accessible for everyone and on a mission to modernise the industry, the platform offers a door-to-door wardrobe clear-out service and a digital marketplace for preloved fashion. Passionate about building a circular economy, & Again is experiencing rapid demand but needs funding to scale. 

Wendy is crowdfunding so & Again can expand its operations, reach more people, and keep more clothing in circulation, reducing waste and reshaping the future of fashion.

Rawinia Rimene - Girl Native

Rawinia Rimene started Girl Native aged 28 with the vision to grow the company to an international household luxury and ethical Rongoa brand, after her daughter suffered from severe skin rash as a newborn. Sensitive to conventional products Rawinia turned her passion for Matauranga Maori into an internationally awarded skincare company from her kitchen at home. Before this she studied at Te Wananga O Aotearoa, graduating in Business Management and Project Management. Her passion for Matauranga Maori comes from her upbringing in Opotiki where she was immersed in Te Ao Maori. Her nanny taught her the foundations of Rongoa Rakau and then extended her knowledge through Maori based practices in Antenatal classes with Maori Midwife Lisa Kelly.

Rawinia is crowdfunding to become retail-ready for international export, specifically Sephora stores.

Taslim Parsons - Essi

Taslim Parsons is a passionate advocate for sexual wellness, inclusivity, and ethical business. With over 20 years of experience in sales, marketing, and brand development, she’s built a career helping businesses grow, launch products, and connect with their ideal customers. She previously launched and grew a highly successful NZ sex toy brand that gave her invaluable insights into the manufacturing and production process. From design and material selection to global sourcing and supply chain management, she developed a deep understanding of what it takes to bring high-quality adult products to market. Now, she's using that expertise to create a brand with purpose—one that prioritises sustainability, ethics, and inclusivity. Introducing Essi—a brand that stands for Ethical, Sustainable, Safe, and Inclusive. The adult industry has long needed a shift toward eco-conscious manufacturing, and Essi will lead the way by using responsibly sourced materials, body-safe ingredients, and sustainable packaging.

Taslim is crowdfunding to launch the first Essi products.

Nimeesha Odedra - Sobhna's

Nimeesha Odedra co-founded her company Sobhna’s with her mum, who the business is named after. Sobhna’s crafts delicious, authentic, and versatile Indian curry pastes and spice blends. Their journey began as a heartfelt hobby when Sobhna faced age-related barriers re-entering the labor market. From humble beginnings at local farmers' markets, Sobhna's has grown into a thriving online business—and now a recognized name in New Zealand retail. Alongside building this venture, Nimeesha completed her doctoral thesis exploring the careers of skilled migrant women, a journey that profoundly shaped her perspective.

Nimeesha and her mum are crowdfunding to support their expansion into the Australian market and to facilitate the move into a new commercial facility, enabling them to increase production and meet growing demand

Check out some of the previous campaigns:

• Norish
• Speak Scents
• Seasick

Special Guest Speaker: Ellen K. Pao

Ellen is an investor and advocate. She is cofounder and CEO of the award-winning diversity and inclusion nonprofit Project Include. At Reddit, she was the first tech CEO to ban revenge porn, unauthorized nude photos, and online harassment. She has been a venture capital investor for 7 years and an angel investor for the past 12 years with a total of 50 investments over her career. She has also worked in tech companies and as a lawyer. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Time, and The Hollywood Reporter. She earned an electrical engineering degree from Princeton, and law and business degrees from Harvard. Her efforts to call attention to discrimination issues have led to the term the “Pao effect.”

Ellen's Op Eds: 

• LA Times: There’s a clear way to regulate Facebook, TikTok and other social media
• Washington Post: Elon Musk’s vision of ‘free speech’ will be bad for TwitterNYT: Has anything really changed for women in tech?

Spots are limited, so get in quick! Register now to attend this online event. 

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*A rewards-based campaign is for anyone looking to raise money to make their plans happen! The campaigners offer rewards like their product or experiences in return for pledges. Learn more

*Equity Crowdfunding is a way for companies to raise investment by offering shares to their customers, family and friends online. Learn more