Life-saving apps to prevent child deaths and detect heart problems among thousands of entries in Australia’s biggest women entrepreneur competition.
What’s happening: The Accelerator for Enterprising Women’s Kickstarter Challenge is back for its fourth year, offering $60,000 in equity-free funding to female entrepreneurs aged 18+. Submissions opened July 1st and close October 1st, with the health and wellbeing sector proving the most popular category among entrants. Applications have surged four-fold from last year’s first month.
Why this matters: This competition represents more than just funding, it’s positioning itself as a launchpad for entrepreneurial dreams at a time when female founders are struggling to access traditional investment. With women-led teams receiving less than 0.5% of venture capital last quarter, competitions offering equity-free funding are becoming crucial pathways for innovative female-led businesses to get off the ground.
For a fourth year, the Accelerator for Enterprising Women’s Kickstarter Challenge has launched a national search for the top business ideas among females aged 18+, with the health and wellbeing sector proving the most popular category for entrants.
The competition offers $60,000 in equity-free funding, positioning itself as more than just a contest, it’s a launchpad for entrepreneurial dreams. Submissions opened July 1st at 9:00am AEST and close October 1st at 5:00pm AEST, with an expert panel of judges reviewing entries to select five finalists.
Entries surge four-fold
Entries have increased four-fold from last year in the first month of launch, with education announced as a fifth new category alongside community impact, environment and sustainability, health and wellbeing, and technology.
The surge comes as innovative ideas flood in, including a safety app to prevent child deaths in hot cars, Shazam-style technology for heart complaints, and solutions from former Olympians looking to change their industries.
Funding drought deepens
The spike in submissions comes as the latest data from Cut Through Venture revealed that teams headed up by female founders attracted less than 0.5% of capital in the last quarter. Only 11 deals featured a woman founder, with the report warning 2025 was shaping up to be the worst year on record.
Accelerator for Enterprising Women spokesperson Fleur Anderson said it was critical that government and investors address the funding disparities hindering female-led ventures.
“The fact that only 0.5% of capital was directed to female founders in the last quarter is deeply disappointing, and is a sign that there remains a lot more work to be done to tear down the barriers to their success,” she said.
Life-saving innovations emerge
The quality of submissions reflects the innovation happening among female entrepreneurs. Ideas flooding in include a safety app to prevent child deaths in hot cars, Shazam-style technology for heart complaints, and solutions from former Olympians looking to transform their industries.
Accelerator for Enterprising Women spokesperson Fleur Anderson said the calibre has been exceptional. “We are seeing a growing trend of women embracing apps, AI, and innovation to make our communities better places,” she said.
“Some of the ingenious app ideas this year aim to prevent child deaths in hot cars, get immediate help for domestic violence victims, help busy families organise their lives and even connect with a community network of EV charging stations in people’s driveways.”
The selected finalists will pitch their ventures at Parliament House in Canberra on November 20th, competing for the winner’s prize of $30,000 with four runners-up receiving $7,500 each. The competition emphasises that successful applicants receive not just funding but also invaluable business support resources.
Five categories launched
A panel of expert judges will select finalists across five categories: Community Impact, Education, Environment and Sustainability, Health, Wellbeing and The Care Economy, and Technology.
Each finalist will pitch to a panel of judges at the 2025 Kickstarter Challenge Grand Final event at Parliament House in Canberra on November 20. The winner will take home $30,000 and the four runners-up will win $7,500 for their start-ups.
The Kickstarter Challenge is an initiative of the Australian government-funded Accelerator for Enterprising Women delivered in partnership with the Council of Small Businesses Australia (COSBOA).
Nicole Walsh, COSBOA Head of Programs, said the latest quarterly data proved a stark reminder that significant work remained to achieve true gender parity in entrepreneurship.
“The Kickstarter Challenge is a golden opportunity to gain the funding, exposure, and expert guidance women need to take their business to the next level,” she said.
Entries close Wednesday, October 1 at 5pm (AEST) at https://enterprisingme.com.au/accelerate/kickstarter-challenge
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