Here are the 8 female-led startups in the Australian final of the global She Loves Tech competition

Eight startups founded or led by women will pitch this week for the chance to represent Australia on the global stage as part of the She Loves Tech Global Startup Competition.

Now in its third year in Australia, seven-year-old She Loves Tech is a global platform committed to closing the funding gap for female entrepreneurs and now operates in 70 countries.

The platform also seeks out and accelerates the best entrepreneurs and technology for transformative impact, aiming to unlock over US$1 billion in capital by 2030 for women-led businesses.

There were more than more than a hundred applications for She Loves Tech Australia, with 8 startups chosen for the final. To qualify, the company must have raised less than US$5 million, have reached MVP stage, with at least one female founder, a majority female users or consumers; or have developed tech designed to positively impact women.

The She Loves Tech Australia 2022: Pitch Final is at the Melbourne Connect in Carlton on Thursday, October 20, at 5pm.

The finalists will be pitching to a panel consisting of Australia’s leading investors from AirTree, Blackbird, SquarePeg, Startmate, and Tractor, having been mentored over several weeks from experts at One Ventures, Investible, Dovetail, and Skalata.

The 2022 She Loves Tech Australia finalists span fintech, edtech, legaltech, the creator economy, and more.

They are:

Avert AI: a B2B SaaS regtech empowering employees to send compliant communications with AI.
Flow of Work: a talent opportunity and insights platform to assist organisations grow and retain critical talent and reduce costs.
Healthbank: a digital health and telemedicine marketplace that connects patients to health practitioners.
Lockpick Games: which helps students prepare for standardised tests via immersive adventure games.
Simply Zibra: an AI-driven digital wallet that consolidates users accounts and assist with effective payment methods.
Subundl: a subscription management and billing SaaS platform accelerating eCommerce by making accessible tailored subscription models for retailers.
Travis: a social commerce platform for creators to monetise from travel recommendations.
Wirl: a mental wellbeing platform that offers personalised food experience recommendations to promote healthy relationships with food.

She Loves Tech Australia ambassador Connie Ren said that the calibre of entries continues to surprise her each year.

“This is the third year for Australian women-led or women-impact startups to participate in this global competition,” she said.

“What surprises me is that tech-oriented startups get used to focusing too much on raising capital and scaling at all costs. But this year, instead of playing to win, I noticed many of the female founders have clear business models, firm appreciation of profitability, and a strong ability to extend the runway.

“Though there are many voices in the market saying the VC Tech investment declined dramatically during the past quarters, the big thing always comes after a downturn. By doing She Loves Tech Australia, we hope we can push more women entrepreneurs to the global stage to shine.”

The winner will go onto the global final with $500,000 in prize money up for grabs.