Westpac research in 2023 that found 51 per cent of women plan to apply for finance to support short to medium business growth, yet more women find it harder to access finance compared with men (29 per cent women to 21 per cent men).

The bank has since provided $63 million of capital to support female entrepreneurs, helping more than 350 women start or grow their business since announcing a $500 million commitment to back more female-led small businesses a year ago.

On the back of International Women’s Day, Westpac is also introducing the following new measures:

• Investing further to support women’s entrepreneurship in Australia with a new training program to help bankers better understand some of the barriers faced by women-led businesses.
• A partnership with UNSW Founders’ 10X Accelerator Program, providing funding for three $20,000 scholarships designed to support women to balance work and personal commitments during the program.

Shane Howell, Westpac Managing Director, Business Lending said: “We know there’s a gap in the Australian market for start-up funding, particularly for women. That’s the problem we set out to address with the $500 million commitment we made last year, and it’s fantastic to see it delivering on that purpose.

“I’m proud we’re further investing in the female-led economy through a new training program to better equip our bankers to support female-led businesses and providing funding for three scholarships through the UNSW Founders’ 10X Accelerator Program which we hope will help relieve some of the financial pressure so recipients can focus on their own development.

“Our ongoing focus on backing female-led businesses supports the bank’s wider commitment to inclusion and playing our part to create equal access to opportunities and finance.”

Matina Karvounaris, National General Manager, Small Business leads a team of business bankers who will participate in the new training program.

“We’re passionate about backing women in business and these initiatives are another way we can support them to get started or grow,” she said.

“As we celebrate international women’s day, and this year’s theme to ‘invest in women: accelerate progress’, there’s no better time to ensure our bankers have greater insight on the barriers that exist for women in business and what we can do to help overcome them.”

Applications for a Westpac UNSW Founders scholarship open in April 2024 via westpac.com.au/femalefounders.