The federal government’s only program for female startup founders will not continue after internal analysis determined more than $35 million in direct grants and mentoring for almost one thousand entrepreneurs had no “measurable impact” on the wider startup ecosystem.
The decision puts an early end to the Boosting Female Founders Initiative that was scheduled to run until next year but has been plagued by delays and government errors.
With no future grant rounds to come, female founders will now have to rely on the Albanese government’s wider commercialisation and women in STEM programs.
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While it apparently was an operational rather than a policy misadventure, the most relevant point to make is that impacting an ecosystem is a long term project. I would like to know the criteria, timeframe and measures used in the evaluation. Many angel and early stage investor groups are moving the dial for female engagement in STEM and start-ups with a long way to go. The evidence is there and available