The online campaign for funding female founders

While raising capital is an issue for most founders, it is particularly hard for women – including those in New Zealand.

The statistics tell the story: a recent report, the Gender Investment Gap, shows that for every 100 startups the government’s New Zealand Capital Growth Partners (NZCGP) invested in, only seven were founded solely by women. Similar numbers can be found in the private sector. 

The report estimates this adds up to a loss of $32 billion worth of economic growth for the country.

The same report says startups with at least one female founder were found to outperform all-male founder teams by 63%.

As part of its objective to grow New Zealand’s startup community, the Ministry of Awesome (MoA) hopes to close this funding gap through a group of women-led crowdfunding campaigns.

“[Women] are 48% of our population but make up only 22% of our founder base, they bring much needed insight, talent, and diversity of thought to a currently homogeneous group,” says MoA CEO Marian Johnson, who was also a member of the government’s Startup Advisors Council. 

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The online event kicks off today, October 19, featuring startups Norish, Seasick Sunscreen, Vince and Zeenya. It is a practical extension of MoA's Electrify programme (Electrify Accelerator and Electrify Aotearoa) with the goal of helping female entrepreneurs close their funding rounds so they can continue to scale.

“Women often get asked different questions than men when they're raising investment – preventative or risk focussed, rather than promotive or opportunity focussed,” says PledgeMe founder Anna Guenther.

There are also different expectations around how women will spend their time, particularly when it comes to children, she says.

In her view, crowdfunding is a great way for women to overcome biases in capital raising.

“Only about 2% of venture capital goes to women-founded companies, but about 50% of the equity campaigns through PledgeMe have women founders,” she says.

She hopes today’s event will help overcome the “barrier to access” that women face when seeking funding.

“My immediate expectations are that each of the founders presenting will be funded by the end of their raise or will be well on their way,” says MoA’s Marian Johnson.

“It's a total experiment and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens because whatever the outcome we will learn, iterate, and grow.”

The Participants

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Gina Urlich | Norish

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A clinical nutritionist by trade, Gina Urlich founded Norish to make nutritional baby food more accessible.

She says her experience raising capital has been “time consuming” and “deflating,” often taking her away from running the business.

“To be candid, my journey hasn't been without its challenges. I've frequently encountered requests to return with more traction, despite having considerable traction to date or to circle back after expanding into new markets, regardless of our initial aim of using funds to facilitate that very expansion,” Urlich says.

Norish has opted for an equity crowdfunding approach to scale up the company, with the goal of going global. The campaign details will be announced at the event tonight.

Chloe Wickman | Zeenya

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Chloe Wickman founded Zeenya, a women’s activewear company, nine years ago. Her campaign’s goal is to raise enough funds to move production of its sports range from Brazil to New Zealand.

After witnessing the success of Nisa’s PledgeMe campaign – which saved the ethical underwear and clothing manufacturer from closing in July 2023 – Wickman decided to pursue the crowdfunding route.

“This past year has been super tough on many businesses and we're no exception. I knew that if I wanted to make this shift to being 100% NZ-made that I'd need some extra help to do it,” she says.

Having launched a few weeks ago, she says she’s been “blown away” by the support they have received so far, and hopes the MOA x PledgeMe event will help show other women what’s possible.

At the time of publishing, Zeenya has raised over two thirds of its minimum $29,000 NZD target.

Debbie Stowe | Vince

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With a culinary background, Debbie Stowe founded Vince as a veggie alternative to mince.

The company is looking to scale and Stowe’s project-based campaign offers products in exchange for pledges. The intention is to purchase larger production equipment.

Stowe has found raising funds for her product “challenging” in the past.  

She says that as a fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) product, Vince struggles to fit the investment portfolios of targeted funds and institutional investors.

“FMCG is seen as a niche area that investors do not have the experience or ability to assess in terms of investment risk and return.”

Crowdfunding, which was suggested to Stowe by PledgeMe, “made sense” for her startup.

At the time of publishing, Vince’s campaign has raised $4000 of an intended $25,000.

Vince has also received investment from Flying Kiwi Angels.

Natalie Jones (Ngā Wairiki Ngāti Apa) | Seasick Sunscreen

Seasick Sunscreen is also participating in the online event with a goal of scaling.

The company was founded by Natalie Jones as a social enterprise to protect people and the planet.

In her campaign, Jones says she needs funds to increase sunscreen production from 100kg to 350kgs with an external manufacturer, as customers are asking for more than double what she can make in her kitchen. 

At the time of publishing, the company has reached its minimum target of $20,000.

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