“Diversity of thought is always going to create better economic outcomes no matter what organisation you have,” was one of the opening messages delivered at the Electrify Accelerator Demo event, by Marian Johnson, Chief Awesome Officer at the Ministry of Awesome.
Nine female founders who have spent the last 12 weeks in the Electrify Accelerator pitched their start-ups to a packed audience at the event, held in Ōtautahi Christchurch.
The demo night was the culmination of Aotearoa’s first-ever start-up accelerator made for woman founders backed by NZ’s leading investors, government and start-up enablers.
It was a response to a growing body of research highlighting the discrepancies between men and women in the start-up sector – such as Angel Association New Zealand, who found that women-led ventures received just 18 percent of early-stage investment in NZ.
The start-ups who pitched their ideas were:
Bounsa – an online professional development marketplace for bouncing ideas off experts, providing in-the-moment learning when you need it.
Dust and glow – takes the water, plastic waste and nonsense out of beauty products – hair and skincare products in powder form.
Remly – an HR solution that simplifies the journey from education to employment. It uses psychometric science and AI to generate career options.
MediMā – an air quality monitor using machine learning and AI alongside an integrated app.
iLA – intelligence, logic and automation for accounting
Dune Intelligence – technology empowering people to make safe decisions at the beach utilising data and AI to provide localised information on beach safety.
Volo – a platform to set up and operate secure cloud native applications and ecosystems.
OnYou – an ethical fashion marketplace aiming to be the go-to platform for the world’s conscious consumers.
Hitch – provides software for organisations to measure, report and reduce their commuting-related emissions.
ChristchurchNZ is proud to be a foundation partner for the Electrify Accelerator 2022.
Congratulations to all the founders!
For more information on innovation and start-ups here in Christchurch see our dedicated innovation pages.
