The 10 amazing women in the She Loves Tech Oceania regional pitch final

The She Loves Tech Oceania Regional Pitch Finals is on in Melbourne this Monday and is set to be a landmark event, showcasing some of the most innovative women-led and women-impact tech startups from across the Oceania region.

As the world’s largest community and acceleration platform dedicated to closing the funding gap for women in technology, She Loves Tech has been a driving force in elevating female entrepreneurs. This year, the competition is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and the Oceania Regional Finals promise to be a thrilling showcase of ingenuity, resilience, and transformative impact.

Diana Teoh, Head of Global Competition, Accelerator, and Growth of She Loves Tech said the founders of 10 startups from Australia and New Zealand will take the stage, each vying for the opportunity to advance to the She Loves Tech Global Finals in Singapore, on 11 November 2024.

“This event is not just a competition; it is a gathering of visionaries and change-makers who are driving the future of gender-lens technology,” she said.

“These 10 startups represent the best of Oceania’s women-led and women-impact ventures, each bringing innovative solutions that address critical challenges in our society. We expect to be inspired by their ingenuity and commitment to creating a better world through technology. The Oceania region has so much potential, and these startups are leading the way in unlocking it.”

The problems these women and their startups are solving span climate tech, health tech, ecommerce, dating, communication and staff rostering.

She Loves Tech is the world’s largest startup competition for women and technology, dedicated to closing the funding gap for women entrepreneurs. Its mission is to seek out and accelerate the best female founders and technology for transformative impact and close the funding gap for women-led and women impact tech entrepreneurs globally.

She Loves Tech Co-Founder and CEO Rhea See said inspiring is an understatement for the passion and dedication of the women founders involved.

“Their commitment to solving real-world problems, combined with their innovative use of technology, is a powerful reminder of the potential that lies within women-led ventures,” she said.

“As we look forward to the Oceania regional finals, we’re not just excited about the competition, but about the future these startups are building—a future where technology serves humanity in the most impactful ways.”

This year, She Loves Tech is hosting competitions in over 70 countries.

The Australian pitch night is Monday, September 2, 5.30-9.30pm, at The Forum @ Melbourne Connect, as part of the Melbourne Innovation Week Events.

There’s more about it here and to be part of the night, book a seat here. It’s free.

The judges include Mike Abbott from Antler, Alicia Darvall from RMIT Activator, Nicole Kleid Small of Ecotone Partners, Alexandra Gifford from Blackbird VC, and Saskia van Lier from VL Consulting.

The night also features a fireside chat on “Unlocking Market Potential in Oceania: Strategies, Challenges, and Opportunities for Tech Startups,” joined by industry experts such as Lauren Morrey from Breakthrough Victoria, Justine Carzino from OneVentures, and Kshitija Deshmukh from FOBOH, winner of She Loves Tech Australia 2023.

In the meantime, here are the founders involved and a bit about their startups

Carla Penn-Kahn

Carla Penn-Kahn is cofounder & CEO, Profit Peak Solutions, an ERP lite SaaS powering advertising, inventory, customer and finance for profitable eCommerce growth.

Claire Waring

Claire Waring is cofounder of Gether Australia, an AI-assistant app that frees parents from family mental load, so they can focus on what matters most to them.

Betty Karikis

Betty Karikis is Head of Product at Elli Cares, a mobile application that supports independent living for people with dementia and provides peace of mind to families.

Kara Zervides

Kara Zervides is cofounder and CEO of Humpday Dating, a one day a week dating app on a mission to end loneliness, using technology to empower authentic community and connection.

Courtney Holm

Courtney Holm is founder of Circular Sourcing, a climate technology platform with a mission to revalue and recirculate the $210 billion in surplus textiles that are underutilised each year.

Millie Marconi

Millie Marconi is cofounder of Hire Yesterday, which reimagines hiring as a strategic, relationship-first process, leveraging AI to build adaptive teams and challenge outdated practices, building businesses for tomorrow’s future of work.

Priyanka Ashraf

Priyanka Ashraf is founder of Maya Cares, which developed Digital Big Sis supporting diverse women to respond to and heal from racism. She is a chatbot and resource library co-created with 300+ diverse women, available to assist anytime, anyhow and from anywhere you would like.

Lingzhi Kang

Lingzhi Kang is cofounder and CMO of Sunflower AI, an AI-powered real-time captioning and multilingual support, making events more inclusive and engaging for everyone.

Sunny Feng

Sunny Feng is cofounder of RosterLab, which leverages advanced AI and operations research to enable organisations, especially healthcare with complex needs, to generate and optimise staff rosters within minutes.