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.

Two key initiatives to support Queensland’s women entrepreneurs

  • A woman presenting on a screen to an audience of people seated casually around here.

    Female Founders Co-investment Fund

    This is for innovative female founded businesses undertaking an early-stage capital raise with new investors.

  • Accelerating Female Founders Program

    This is for organisations delivering business support initiatives such as events, workshops, programs or mentoring, to address barriers and increase participation of female founders.

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@dtis.qld.gov.au

Female Founders – Case studies

Last updated: 17 Jul 2024