What could be better than a determined and business savvy woman with an intense passion for lifting up the women and communities around her?
The answer to this question is always, well, two determined and passionate women of course.
It is no secret amongst the most successful people of our time that collaboration is key, and as we celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) this year in Australia, two women, Global Sisters Founder & CEO Mandy Richards and Lift Women Founder & CEO Irene Tsang have taken up the call to action to #breakthebias.
Alies Bol, Founder Frika Activewear
Angie Poller, Founder Heat Wear You Need It
Catie Fry, Founder Clovendoe
The new partnership between Global Sisters’ women-focused online marketplace and Lift Women’s crowdfunding platform offers a completely new solution to breaking down the age-old barriers to economic participation, which sees women receive just a fifth of all start-up capital for new businesses in Australia.
The women who utilise Global Sisters’ marketplace for their businesses and social enterprises are now set to benefit from access to a previously untapped revenue stream via Lift Women’s crowdfunding platform, starting with 12 budding business-women who will be participating in the launch.
Global Sisters’ Mandy Richards explains: “The partnership with Lift Women is vital because it means that the women that have their businesses and social enterprises on our marketplace now have access to a supported, gender-lensed mechanism for generating start-up and growth capital for their business.”
Cyana Duong, Founder Camie Fleur
Fabiola Campbell, Founder Professional Migrant Women
Fiona Harrison, Founder Chocolate on Purpose
”Women are severely underrepresented in the entrepreneurial world.
Irene TsangLife Women
A women-focused crowdfunding platform offers a fresh solution for financing women entrepreneurs, who for various social and economic reasons, may not have access to traditional finance.
It is also innovative in its practicality, providing access to funding, customers, product-market fit validation and visibility all in one place.
Only 22 per cent of start-up founders in Australia are women. In 2020 alone, over six million crowdfunding projects were created globally, but less than 30 percent were women’s projects. With Lift Women, I aim to change this.”
Ira Puspita, Founder Kayu & Co
Jacque Opie, Founder Coco Sensual
Jessica Montrose, Founder The Natural Skin Store
According to Irene, the creation of an online community environment that is specifically geared towards reaching women users is integral to the platform’s success.
“We are particularly focused on women because we want to create a place where they can relate and with a narrative that they will understand. It is a safe go-to place where there is no judgment, only women supporting women,” she said.
Although their values and goals are directly aligned, the online platform each woman has created offers something unique to the partnership.
Global Sisters offers an innovative and accessible online marketplace supported by business education and coaching, microfinance, sales and marketing support for women from pre- business idea, right through to scaling their business. It also comes with an incredibly supportive community which is a critical point of difference.
Lift Women is a Fintech start-up leveraging advanced technology to help women overcome traditional barriers to business and finance through a first of its kind crowdfunding site, specifically designed to support women in reaching their crowdfunding goals, while also providing guidance and mentoring through all stages of their business campaign creation.
Madison Connors, Founder Fierce Tidda Club
Natalie Cunningham, Founder Native Swimwear
Nathalie Gits, Founder Violet & Gold
Both Mandy and Irene’s online platforms were born amidst the financial uncertainty brought about by COVID 19 and are a direct product of their desire to empower women to create sustainable incomes for themselves and their families.
The women that the platforms aim to reach include those who are living on lower incomes, those who have recently migrated or are displaced, and women who are supporting families on their own.
Global Sisters CEO Mandy Richards acknowledges that “incredible things happen when you back women.
“When women are given the confidence, skills, connections and support they so often miss out on, there is no stopping them.
“They break down barriers, force change and move us all on. They start-up and grow businesses, lift up communities, and build a stronger economy that is a more equal, inclusive place.”
To learn more visit www.globalsisters.org and www.liftwomen.com
Check out the 12 amazing sisters’ projects, support and help bring their dreams to life:
Clovendoe Distilling Co. by Catie Fry – Australia’s first all-female distilling company dedicated to clean and conscious drinking
Chocolate On Purpose by Fiona Harrison – Australia’s first Indigenous chocolate company connecting ancient Indigenous Culture through storytelling with chocolate
The Native Swimwear Australia by Natalie Cunningham – Sustainable fashion brand led by Australia’s first Indiegenous fashion designer featured on New York Fashion Week.
Camie Fleur by Cyana Duong – From a sustainable flourishing dry and silk flower studio to providing jobs for people living with disabilities.
Professional Migrant Women by Fabiola Campbell – Closing the employment gap for professional migrant women
Coco Sensual by Jacque Opie – Reignite intimate relationship through organic luxurious ethically made products.
Fierce Tidda Club by Madison Connors – Sustainable menstrual cup on a mission to end period poverty and empower First Nation women.
Frika Activewear by Alies Bol – Activewear that brings African-inspired stories and vibrancy to Australia.
Violet & Gold by Nathalie Gits – Handcrafted syrup mixes with 100% Australian botanicals and ingredients – and a mission to upcycle food waste into delicious food.