International Women’s Day: Celebrating small enterprise founders and leaders

The UN theme for International Women’s Day (IWD) this 12 months is ‘Invest in girls: Accelerate progress’. The lack of funding in gender equality measures is seen to be a human rights subject by the UN, and a cornerstone for constructing inclusive societies. Climate change, geopolitical conflicts and the present financial system exacerbate inequality and disproportionately impression girls.

There are some ways we will make an impression and #InvestInWomen in our native communities. Investing in girls doesn’t require having 1000’s of {dollars} to purchase shares in a enterprise or programmes, it might be so simple as purchasing domestically or on-line at a women-led retailer, or supporting organisations that promote gender-equality or a greener and extra caring economic system.

Bringing women-led small enterprise to the fore

Among the numerous Xero prospects, there are unimaginable small companies which are led and/or based by girls. As a part of our celebrations for International Women’s Day this 12 months, we need to recognise a few of these inspiring girls and their organisations. Last 12 months, we held the inaugural Xero Beautiful Business Fund which acquired over 5,500 entries, lots of whom had been from implausible women-led companies. In truth, over half of our winners are women-founded/led!

We’re proud to showcase among the winners and share their views on how reaching gender equality and ladies’s wellbeing in all facets of life may help us construct more healthy and extra affluent communities.

Art Outreach Singapore – Chaired by Mae Anderson, Art Outreach Singapore promotes entry to artwork training in faculties, for youngsters from deprived backgrounds, and the broader neighborhood with the purpose of enhancing artwork literacy and significant considering. Art Outreach’s board is made up of 4 girls, together with Audrey Phng, Asa Tucker and Kaori Zage alongside Chairman Mae Anderson, who’re all passionate concerning the arts and versed in areas corresponding to entrepreneurship, wealth and philanthropic administration, consultancy and media.

Constantia Food Club – Founded by Noma Matoko-Louemba and Courtney Atkinson, Constantia Food Club connects small native growers and producers straight with prospects in Cape Town. Constantia Food Club goals to help native regenerative farmers to assist cut back biodiversity loss, promote sustainable meals manufacturing and create a decentralised meals system.

Hand Me Up – Hand Me Up is an e-commerce answer setup by Nicole Boynton and Kara Livingston to make it simpler for households to buy second-hand for his or her youngsters. Long-time buddies with youngsters of their very own, Nicole and Kara know first-hand how costly and wasteful the youngsters clothes trade might be. They need to change that by connecting households with inexpensive preloved kidswear, and decreasing textile waste, by way of Hand Me Up.

Hoot Reading – Founded and run by co-CEOs Carly Shuler and Maya Kotecha, Hoot Reading is on a mission to remodel kids’s lives by way of literacy. Hoot strives to handle the tutorial disparities that impression numerous college students by offering evidence-based, 1:1 on-line literacy instruction that’s accessible to all kids.

Maya Kotecha & Carly Shuler, Co-CEO’s and Co-Founders of Hoot Reading shared: “We are extremely proud to say that over 80% of Hoot Reading workers are feminine, almost 3 times the trade common. Furthermore, 92% of our management crew consists of proficient girls, surpassing trade norms by over 3 times. These statistics underscore our unwavering dedication to an inclusive setting the place variety isn’t simply celebrated however is integral to our success.

At Hoot Reading, we try to handle instructional disparities by making evidence-based, 1:1 on-line literacy instruction accessible to all kids. Investing in girls helps us to attain our targets, however goes past enterprise – it fosters communities which are equitable, supportive, and revolutionary.”

Let’s Go Physio – The physiotherapists at Let’s Go Physio work to rehabilitate kids and adults who’ve been identified with neurological and different circumstances. Claire Ingham began Let’s Go Physio in 2019, after an intensive profession within the NHS and Private Practice.

More Granola – During the 2020 pandemic, Sarah Aubrey-Davies determined to launch a product that glad her love for granola clusters that may sometimes seem in granola bins. Hoping to deliver a way of play into wholesome consuming, More Granola creates contemporary baked, extra-chunky granola constituted of actual substances that style like a deal with.

Oranjezicht City Farm Market – Started by Sheryl Ozinsky, The Oranjezicht City Farm Market in Cape Town connects small-scale natural farmers and meals producers to 1000’s of shoppers. After being concerned in numerous neighborhood security tasks, Sheryl realised that if you wish to construct actual neighborhood, then it is advisable to deliver folks collectively, and what higher method of doing so than by way of meals.

Oriental Remedies Clinic – Oriental Remedies combines conventional Chinese medication (TCM) with cutting-edge expertise to boost affected person well-being. Co-founder and CEO, Beatrice Liu is passionate concerning the patient-centered care they supply and the crew she has assembled.

Oysterly – Most companies are struggling to maintain up with social media. Oysterly is a short-form video company based by Melissa Laurie that specialises in creating user-generated content material movies to provide forward-thinking firms large publicity and progress throughout the large 6 platforms: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LINE, X, and YouTube.

Rock Recovery – Carylynn Kemp Larson began Rock Recovery in 2007, after a robust restoration from an consuming dysfunction was disrupted by devastating life adjustments. With the aim of serving to folks overcome consuming problems and physique picture points, Rock Recovery gives direct, inexpensive remedy and help providers.

Reflecting on this 12 months’s IWD theme, Christie Dondero Bettwy, Executive Director at Rock Recovery, shared: “Without wellness, there isn’t any equality. Eating problems are the second deadliest psychological well being situation (surpassed solely by opioid use), and ladies endure at alarming charges. Rock Recovery is doing life-changing and life-saving work to make therapy and help obtainable to those that want it, in order that they’ll have the wellness and assets they must be totally engaged of their lives and on this planet.”

Suitcase Recor ds – Co-founded by Kathy Wilson, Suitcase Records is a family-run state-of-the-art vinyl urgent plant in Brisbane, Australia. Passionate about supporting artists to maintain making music, Suitcase Records challenges the established order and are investigating extra sustainable methods of developing vinyl records.

Kathy Wilson, Suitcase Records Co-founder, shared her reflections on girls getting into the historically male-dominated music and manufacturing industries: “I got here to each the music and manufacturing industries later in my profession and got here in as a enterprise proprietor. I do assume each industries had been totally different locations for girls 20 years in the past and more and more, girls are making their presence recognized (in a great way) in each industries and including a distinct perspective on how issues might be finished. We imagine this alteration is each essential and mandatory. We are internet hosting a Women in Music occasion this week, partly to have a good time this within the trade and in addition as a result of on daily basis, cool girls together with musicians, music executives, not for revenue managers and extra, come throughout our radar and we need to deliver them collectively and see what fabulous issues can occur.”

The Together Project – National, intergenerational charity The Together Project brings communities collectively to scale back loneliness and sort out drawback. Louise Goulden, Founder & CEO, was impressed to arrange The Together Project in 2017 while on maternity go away from her advertising profession. Having skilled the profound change that parenthood brings, she needed to really feel extra linked to her area people and created a grassroots mission that may unite age teams for mutual profit.

We’re impressed by the ladies leaders recognised by way of the Xero Beautiful Business Fund. Our prospects and the work they’re doing every day remind us of the significance of investing in girls entrepreneurs and the long run planet and society we need to stay in. If you’d prefer to know extra about how one can assist help this 12 months’s IWD theme, check out the UN Women’s IWD weblog.

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March 7, 2024 at 09:37PM