Introducing the 8 female business leaders selected to learn from world-class entrepreneurs

SBE Australia has selected its eight participants for this years’ Springboard Enterprises Australia Accelerator program.

Now entering its sixth year, it teaches female business leaders how to grow their companies.

In Australia, start-ups contribute A$164 billion to the economy. Despite this, only 17 per cent of venture-backed founders are women.

Unfortunately, this figure isn’t growing, given that female entrepreneurs often receive less funding than male entrepreneurs.

"Because the tech space is heavily led by men, SBE Australia advocates for gender parity in order to give female-led tech businesses more of a voice in the space," says Topaz Conway, Chair of SBE Australia. The contribution female founders make to the Australian economy is significant and diversity is good for business."

The contribution female founders make to the Australian economy is significant and diversity is good for business.

The accelerator program offers participants the chance to learn from some of the best in the industry. Each company receives a team of advisers to impart business strategy techniques and provide networking opportunities.

Participants are taught subjects including market opportunities, business strategy, financial modelling and IP, as well as networking and pitching.

At the end of the program, each alumnus remains part of a global community of investors and innovators.

Uniquely for a female start-up accelerator, SBE Australia does not take any equity stake in the businesses it helps to build, due to its status as a not-for-profit.

The participants

These are the eight female leaders (featured above) selected to take part in the accelerator program.

Top, left to right: Anastasia Volkova, FluroSat; Georgie Drury, Springday; Mel Gollan, RIP Global; Sabrina Bethunin, MadeComfy.
Bottom, left to right: Barbara Sharp, Pax Republic; Bernadette Olivier, The Volte; Kylie Legge, Place Score; Claire Morris, Prezzee.

• Anastasia Volkova, FluroSat

  FluroSat is an agricultural tech company, focusing on state-of-the-art drones, satellites and sensors and sophisticated analysis, to help farmers monitor and maintain their crops.

• Georgie Drury, Springday

  Springday brings the best wellbeing providers, activities and programs to companies. The cloud-based platform gets users to move more, reduce stress and improve their overall health and wellbeing.

• Mel Gollan, RIP Global

  RIP Global is a cloud-based bookkeeping service, which eliminates the need for scanning and uploading receipts and holding onto paperwork. The service automatically and instantly processes expenses and invoice management for businesses.

• Sabrina Bethunin, MadeComfy

  MadeComfy is a property management service for short-term rentals. It offers services in marketing the property, ensuring maximum efficiency and profitability, while acting as the primary guest contact.

• Barbara Sharp, Pax Republic

  Pax Republic hosts AI-supported technology to help large groups engage in problem solving. Its lead product, C-Sight™, helps encourage participation and productivity in group discussions.

• Bernadette Olivier, The Volte

  The Volte is a crowd-sourced rental business like Uber or Airbnb that allows users to rent out or hire designer clothes with assured reliability and security.

• Kylie Legge, Place Score

  Place Score is a tech platform that gives communities a space to voice their cares and concerns, in turn helping governments and developers prioritise community improvement.

• Claire Morris, Prezzee

  Prezzee is an app that consolidates e-gift cards into one easily accessible location, allowing users to buy, send and redeem straight from their mobile.