Auckland Conference Highlights Support for Female Founders & Wahine Maori Entrepreneurs

• In Auckland, a significant international conference aimed at improving assistance for female entrepreneurs is currently in progress
• Improving women entrepreneurs' access to capital, mentorship, and business networks are important topics of discussion

For the first time in Aotearoa New Zealand, Auckland is hosting the esteemed Diana International Research Conference from July 1–4, which will feature global research and findings on women’s entrepreneurship, with wāhine Māori voices at the forefront.

Organised by the University of Auckland Business School's Aotearoa Centre for Enterprising Women, the Researchers, corporate executives, and entrepreneurs come together at this conference to exchange ideas on the most important issues facing female founders, such as systemic bias and capital access.

The event, which is co-chaired by Professor Chris Woods, will examine topics such as: What do female entrepreneurs actually want? How do we use business-related research in academia to better solve real-world business issues? And how do we change the system to tap into women-led business?

The conference features academic sessions and keynote presentations, as well as a publicly accessible Impact Day on 4 July. Featured events include "Mana wāhine across the generations," a panel led by Dr Kiri Dell (Ngāti Porou) with wāhine from different generations to discuss the unique contribution wāhine Māori can provide as entrepreneurs and the requirement for collaborative, values-led solutions.

Another highlight session, "The Supply and Demand Challenge," addresses the blatant imbalance in venture capital, whereby women still receive only 2 percent of VC financing globally. The panel will discuss the best practices to unlock more capital for female-led businesses.

The conference ends on a positive note with an optimistic panel of Dame Theresa Gattung, Darsel Keane, Sophie Bradley, and Dr Amanda Elam discussing the future of Aotearoa and international wāhine entrepreneurship.

Conference co-host Dr Janine Swail states the conference originally brings together academy research, practitioner knowledge, and community voices to drive sustained change in women's entrepreneurship.