Supporting Female Founders

Our Commitment

Westpac’s $500 million female entrepreneurs fund has been expanded by another $500 million to $1 billion, to further address the challenges faced by women accessing finance to start or grow a business.

We know that accessing finance is one of the biggest challenges women face when starting or growing a business¹. That’s why we’ve simplified the lending process for all eligible businesses through our Business Loans for start-ups and scale-ups².

This pool of funding available is a tangible initiative supporting our 2030 Sustainability Strategy focused on enhancing financial inclusion and equality. 

In addition to our simplified lending process, we’re proud to provide financial support for female entrepreneurs to develop and reach their potential through sponsorships in the start-up ecosystem.

Stay tuned for some of the ways that Westpac is advocating for financial inclusion and demonstrating our support to removing barriers for women.

Westpac is investing in the next wave of female entrepreneurs with our partners

Westpac x UNSW Founders

We’re excited to announce our continued sponsorship with UNSW Founders for a second year in 2025.

UNSW Founders is a leading on campus entrepreneurship program, providing end-to-end support to individuals wanting to start and scale their businesses.

The sponsorship provides concrete financial support for promising founders through dedicated pitch prizes and scholarships.

New Wave Pitch Prizes

Westpac is proud to provide $15,000 in sponsorship for the first prizes in UNSW Founder's biannual New Wave program pitch event. New Wave is the UNSW Founders program for women with a startup idea or seeking to improve their entrepreneurial skills. 

Pitch prizes can elevate an early-stage business and provide much-needed credibility and early funding to pursue an idea.

The program is open to women who are UNSW students, alumni & staff.

Applications for 2025 Cohort B open on 2 July and close 13 August, learn more or find out how to apply. 

Westpac Accelerator Scholarships

Westpac is proud to fund three scholarships valued at $20,000 each to offer financial support to women and non-binary founders who are successful in joining UNSW Founders 10x Accelerator programs with their high-potential startup.

The Westpac Accelerator Scholarships are designed to address barriers that women founders may experience when pursuing their startup full time, including those who may struggle to balance family and work commitments and access capital for business growth. It can also help cover their cost of travel or supplement income when undertaking the 10-week Accelerator program.

10x Accelerators help founders of tech startups and research ventures grow and become investment and impact-ready. The Accelerator streams include Health, Defence, Climate, and All Industries. Selected startups receive seed funding and 10 weeks of accelerated learning from experts and mentors. Their support comes from founders with direct industry experience, weekly workshops and connections.

The Westpac Accelerator Scholarships are open to female or non-binary founders participating in the 10x Accelerator program.

10x Accelerator Eligibility:

All industries program is open to companies with at least one UNSW alumni, staff or student founder.
Health 10x, Defence 10x and Climate 10x are open nationally with no UNSW affiliation required.

Applications for 2025 10x Accelerator & the Westpac Accelerator Scholarship open 1 April and close 19 May, learn more or register your interest.

Westpac x Tech Ready Women

We’re excited to announce our sponsorship with Tech Ready Women in 2025.

Tech Ready Women is a nationally recognised education company upskilling women through the provision of industry-leading tech, startup and business training programs, events and support networks.

Investment Ready Program

Westpac is proud to sponsor the Tech Ready Women's Investment Ready Program. The national program is designed to equip founders with the knowledge, connections, and confidence needed to successfully raise capital. This five-month program including 6 weeks of intensive weekly workshops and 4 months of monthly advisory offers learning and mentoring sessions tailored to address the specific challenges women face in securing funding, including grants, equity investments, proof of concept partnerships and loan finance.

The program is open to founders with a scalable startup and looking to access capital. The 20 founders selected for the program will also benefit from a scholarship, sponsored by Westpac, reducing their program fee.

Applications for the 2025 Cohort 1 Investment Ready Program closed 10 January, learn more.

Westpac x Startmate

We’re excited to announce our sponsorship with Startmate in 2025.

Startmate is building the ecosystem that startups need to thrive. They do this by accelerating and connecting ambitious founders, operators and investors in Australia and New Zealand.

One of their major focusses is removing hurdles, clearing pathways and empowering more women to work in tech.

Westpac’s sponsorship will help support ambitious and talented women pursue a career in tech through Startmate’s dedicated programs and providing scholarships to women experiencing financial difficulty.

Ladymates: Accelerating the careers of women in business

Westpac is proud to sponsor Ladymates, a highly vetted membership where professional women connect and grow.

Ladymates is a tailored community for professional women who want to excel in their careers as operators and leaders in their organisations. Ladymates Leadership is for senior leaders and founders while Ladymates Collective is for early to mid-level professionals and founders. As an ongoing yearly membership, women gain access to skill-building masterclasses, social events, peer advisory groups, mentorship, executive coaching and access to a powerful network.

Westpac has also provided $20K in Westpac Scholarships to support women facing financial difficulty, covering partial or full fees for the Ladymates program.

Learn more or find out how to apply for Ladymates.

Westpac x Fishburners

Westpac proudly sponsored Fishburners in 2024.

Fishburners is one of Australia's leading start-up communities providing over 1000+ entrepreneurs a year with access to investment and economic development opportunities, mentoring, facilities and educational resources.

The sponsorship aimed to support promising founders through dedicated programs.

The Ascent Project: Incubator & Accelerator Program

Westpac was proud to sponsor the Ascent Project featuring two new Fishburners programs, the Incubator & Accelerator. The programs were designed to empower and elevate female founders in the startup ecosystem at different stages of their journey. The Incubator was a 6-week program focusing on Idea-stage startups or aspiring entrepreneurs, while the Accelerator was a 7-week program for small businesses ready to scale their business.

Fishburners' comprehensive programs offer personalised mentorship, access to Fishburners co-working spaces, and informative content sessions helping to equip founders with the connections, resources, and guidance needed to navigate the complexities of entrepreneurship.

The Accelerator program is open to all founders, solo and teams with one founder identifying as female or non-binary.

Applications for the 2024 Accelerator are now closed. Learn more.

Things you should know

1. The research was commissioned by Westpac and conducted by Lonergan Research in October 2024 in accordance with the ISO 20252 standard. 1,010 Australian SME Business Leaders were surveyed throughout Australia including capital city and non-capital city areas. The survey was conducted online with data weighted to the latest population estimates sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

2. Terms & Conditions, fees & charges and eligibility and credit criteria apply.

SUPPORTING FEMALE FOUNDERS