Ministry of Awesome and PledgeMe - 'Fund Female Founders' 12 March 2024

Join Our 'Fund Female Founders' Investment Showcase - 12 March 2024!

Funding is one of the most significant hurdles women face when scaling their businesses. And with your support, we changed that last year. We helped four women-led ventures raise over $600k. We want to do it again for International Women’s Day this year, where the theme is “Invest in Women”.

The teams behind Ministry of Awesome and PledgeMe have joined forces again to launch a group of women-led crowdfunding campaigns on Tuesday, 12 March, and we invite you to join us live as we celebrate, support, and fund these remarkable women.

Join us live on Thursday, 12 March as we celebrate, support, and fund some remarkable women-led crowdfunding campaigns.

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 line up…

• Ettie Kits - Erin Jackson, Ange Meyer and Tania Domett
  Named for Ettie Rout, Aotearoa New Zealand’s first sexual health crusader, EttieKits® are convenient at-home testing kits designed to detect sexually transmitted infections (STIs) quickly and reliably - and they’re changing the nature of the game in terms of encouraging people to get on top of their sexual health. Created by the Project Gender Innovation Studio. We are serious about bridging the gap between untapped market potential and groundbreaking solutions, by focusing on the most influential demographic globally. Women.
  
  
• Korawai - Fiona Taimana 
  A Māori enterprise creating wearable tech garments that provide comfort to anxious dogs, and their owners. Founder Fiona Taimana has 20 years experience in marketing, including 10 years in the Middle East/India with Emirates Group. Korawai came out of her Masters of Commercialisation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Auckland where she focussed on commercialising science and technology.
  
  
• The Finery - Jane Allan
  Crafting premium better-for-you beverages for every occasion. Jane Allan wants to lead the future of moderation creating a range of beverages that give consumers freedom to choose. Leading multi-million dollar projects over two decades, Jane's ambition to create better futures for our generations through moderation is the driving force behind Finery's success.
  
  
• Coralcone - Yvette Shum
  A menstrual cup empowering change and charting the future of sustainable periods - protecting our oceans one period at a time. Nature is no place for chemicals or single-use disposables and neither is your nether region. Founder/CEO Yvette Shum has 15 years experience as a Post and Creative Producer (New Zealand, Shanghai, United Kingdom, Singapore). Advanced scuba diver, ocean lover, tiger mama and 2.5 decades as a menstruator.
  
  
• Speak Scents - Madeleine Patel 
  Simplifying the search for your favourite fragrance using proprietary technology. After launching a perfume business using tech to help customers discover scents from their own range, Madeleine Patel explored how this technology could be used to make it easier to find any fragrance, and discovered an untapped opportunity to transform a growing global industry. Passionate about using data-driven insights to drive change, she is disrupting fragrance retail with game-changing technology to make it easier to find perfume you love without the in-store headache, transforming a growing global category.
  
  
• Baxter’s Original Sauce - Mekla Sirisomphone
  From 'Sweet and Smoky' BBQ sauce a mild delicious family favourite and best seller, through to the spicier 'Dragons Breath' BBQ sauce which earned World Champion Status at the 2017 World Hot Sauce Awards in the USA, Baxter's Original delivers that extra zest to your favourite food! Mekla Sirisomphone and her partner are co-founders of the Baxters Original sauce brand where she manages the manufacturing and distribution aspects of the business. 

• Tika is a new kind of legal service with technology platform that matches people who have been sexually harassed or assaulted by the same perpetrator. Once matched, each group can then decide whether to report as a group to the police, a professional regulatory body, or take a claim in the civil courts, all with the assistance of a lawyer. As a registered charity, our service will be free of charge. Founded by award winning journalist, Ali Mau, and Zoë Lawton legal researcher turned barrister who successfully lobbied Parliament for an amendment to the Employment Relations Act in the area of work place sexual harm.

• Speaker:Vidya Dinamani is a partner with Ad Astra Ventures where she helps strengthen predominantly women founders and their teams, guiding them through a research-based curriculum designed to develop authentic leaders, and supports them through direct investment. She has deep experience in product management and is an expert on helping early stage companies achieve product-market fit. Vidya is the author of Groundwork: Get Better at Making Better Products, and the host of podcast, Product Rebels.

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