AUSTRALIA

Brisbane helps female business owners to expand and flourish

September 2024: The Australian City of Brisbane (Queensland), which describes itself as the most small-business-friendly city in Australia, has set aside AUS$250,000 to help women-led businesses expand. The 2024 Lord Mayor’s Women in Business Grants programme offers businesswomen up to $5,000 to help fund training, equipment and services to boost their business performance. Brisbane’s Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner explained that more than a third of all Brisbane businesses are led by women. “We want to help that number grow. The city’s Women in Business Grant programme is about giving businesses led by women the tools they need to start, run and grow.”

 

According to Australia’s Office of the Small Business Ombudsman, women-owned, women-led enterprises are increasing faster than male-owned businesses. Research conducted in 2023 found the economic opportunity for Australia by boosting the number of female entrepreneurs to parity with men would be worth between $71 billion and $135 billion to the nation’s economy.

 

Brisbane’s Deputy Mayor Krista Adams detailed that businesswomen have been telling her that the city’s programme is making it easier for women to do business in Brisbane. “We’re proud to support and empower Brisbane businesswomen who are driving the growth of Brisbane’s economy, creating jobs and making a big impact.

 

Beyond financial support, all recipients benefit from a 12-month development programme delivered by the Brisbane Business Hub and supported by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia to boost business connections and leadership skills.

 

Barbara Spooner, who received a grant in 2021, invested in new machinery to increase production capacity for her cycling apparel business ‘Birds on Bikes’. The support has contributed to the opening of her first workshop in Brisbane, as well as securing a wholesale distribution deal across Australia and New Zealand.

 

“Loneliness is one of the big challenges for female founders,” she said. “Being recognised with the grant three years ago gave me more confidence in my ability. “The money is nice, but the community of other grant recipients I have met has helped me realise I’m not the only one coming up against challenges and issues.

 

Source: Inside Local Government

 

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NEW ZEALAND

Tauranga’s only female councillor named deputy mayor

​August 2024: The city council of Tauranga (population 162,000), New Zealand’s fifth-largest city, elected its only female member as deputy mayor. Jen Scoular will serve alongside Mayor Mahé Drysdale, a two-time Olympic rowing champion, who described his deputy as a woman with a great range of skills. “Jen will complement me very, very well in leading this team to achieve for the people of Tauranga.”

Jen Scoular, who is the only woman elected to the council, said it was with pride and a deep sense of responsibility that she accepted the role of deputy mayor. While she was disappointed not to be joined by more women around the council table, she was dedicated to making Tauranga an inclusive and prosperous city.

She said throughout her 30-year career in commercial business leadership and seven years as a trade diplomat, she had recognised the huge benefits of developing strong cultures, collaboration and building enduring relationships. "These are prerequisites for a successful council here, in one of the fastest growing regions in New Zealand. As deputy mayor, I will work to foster strong alignment and cohesion within the Tauranga community, across cultures, sectors and interests.

Jen Scoular is an alumnus of the Te Hono primary sector movement and actively supported the Māori-owned avocado orchards in the Far North. She would advocate for very strong relationships between and across councils and with local iwi.

Jen was raised in Tauranga. She is Chair of the House of Science, an entity founded in Tauranga, which develops and supplies science experiment kits to 700 primary schools around NZ. She is a director of IFPA (International Fresh Produce Association) Australia-New Zealand.
 

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On other news pages: North American women mayors | South American women mayors | European women mayors | Mayors from the Middle East | Asian women mayors | Australasia women mayors | African women Mayors |

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