The Building an Inclusive Innovation Economy report, commissioned by Investment NSW, provides critical insights and recommendations on the impacts of government funding, programs and policies on women entrepreneurs in Australia’s startup and innovation ecosystem.
The report has been prepared by the Women’s Entrepreneurship Industry Reference Group (IRG), comprising leaders from across the startup, funding and innovation landscape. The IRG was formed by Investment NSW in 2023 to provide an important bridge between government and industry. It allows policy makers to draw on the first-hand experience and diverse expertise of those working across the ecosystem, helping to address entrenched inequality for women entrepreneurs and innovators.
In this report, the Women’s Entrepreneurship IRG presents:
- a deep dive into the current state of gender equity in the Australian startup ecosystem and the case for systemic change
- unprecedented insights on the complex and nuanced barriers facing women entrepreneurs, and the compounding impact those barriers have during the capital raising process and beyond
- exploration of international best practice for embedding an intersectional gender-lens across an investment landscape
- a set of key recommendations for government, including potential funding models, policy settings and programs of work, that could meaningfully increase gender inequity in the innovation ecosystem
- a national vision for harnessing women’s entrepreneurship and innovation as a central driver of economic growth.
The Building an Inclusive Innovation Economy report is being considered as part of the development of the NSW Innovation BlueprintExternal Link.