Find out how the Backing Female Founders Program supports Queensland’s female founders to grow and scale their innovative businesses.

About the program

The Backing Female Founders Program provides a suite of initiatives to grow and scale Queensland innovation businesses founded by women.

Nearly 2000 female founders to date have benefited from the program.

The founder journey, never an easy one for anyone, is considerably harder for women. It is well documented that women-owned businesses face a range of barriers to growth – including economic situation, difficulty building a high-quality network and access to capital, which was ranked the number one barrier for women founders in Australia.

The Backing Female Founders Program aims to address these barriers by supporting female founders in developing and growing their businesses.

Some key statistics which illustrate some of the challenges faced by female founders in developing and growing their businesses include:

  • 4% of total $3.5B VC funding went to 100% women-founded businesses, 26% of total funding went to businesses with at least one female founder; and 70% went to male-founded businesses
  • 75% of women founders believe their gender has impacted their ability to raise capital compared to 9% of male founders
  • 14% of women founders believe there are many funding options available compared to 26% of male founders
  • 26% of women founders feel supported by the wider Australian entrepreneurial community and startup ecosystem compared to 57% of male founders.

Source: The State of Australian Startup Funding 2023 (Cut Through Venture/Folklore Ventures) report.

Key initiatives to support Queensland’s women entrepreneurs

Other initiatives

  • Showcasing – profiling, celebrating and championing female founders’ stories and successes to the broader community. Please email FemaleFounders@dtis.qld.gov.au if you are interested in being showcased.
  • Opening doors – providing opportunities for female founders to participate in events, networks and forums to make connections with potential investors, customers and other supporters to help take their businesses to the next level. Please join the Advance Queensland Female Founders LinkedIn group to receive notification of these opportunities.
  • Learn – sharing useful videos to support business growth.

Contact

For any specific enquiries for the Backing Female Founders programs, please email femalefounders@des.qld.gov.au.

Female Founders – Case studies

  • Advance Queensland support for Queensland female founders

    Queensland female founders have been recognised for their contribution to Australia’s innovation ecosystem with almost $1 million in Advance Queensland support.

  • Bionic voice box giving people back their voice

    Laronix is a medical device start-up that has developed a world-first bionic voice box to restore speech for people who have lost their voice as a result of laryngeal cancer. Laryngeal cancer occurs in the throat. Over 600 Australians are diagnosed with laryngeal cancer each year. In 2018, there was almost 100,000 people living with laryngeal cancer in the United States. Survivors of the disease usually have their larynx removed and lose their voice as a result of a surgical procedure called laryngectomy.

  • Supporting female founders

    The Accelerating Female Founders Program is equipping more female founders to start social enterprise businesses, create jobs and do good, with Advance Queensland support.

  • Ideas into reality: First Nations businesswomen share advice with aspiring entrepreneurs

    Advance Queensland was proud to welcome three exceptional female founders at a special event held at The Precinct to share their success story and challenges as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesswomen.

  • From baby mess to Aussie success: the Strucket invention story

    Innovation is about seeking a solution to a challenge – whether it’s as big as dealing with climate change or finding a better way to manage an everyday problem.

Last updated: 23 Aug 2024