Meet the Winners
The four founders we're backing through the 2026 Female Founder Fund, each building something that makes a real difference.
1ST PLACE ($8,000)
Te Kahukura Boynton
MĀORI MILLIONAIRE
About the Business
Māori Millionaire delivers trauma-informed financial literacy, taught in an accessible, culturally grounded way to help Māori and underserved communities build wealth and financial confidence.
The Problem
Māori communities face disproportionate economic inequities rooted in colonisation, land dispossession, systemic racism and underrepresentation in financial spaces — and financial wellbeing shapes everything from housing and mental health to education, business ownership and intergenerational outcomes. Māori Millionaire tackles financial exclusion head-on, making financial education feel safe and relevant rather than out of reach.
How Funds Will Be Used
Fund a trip to Canada to keynote an Indigenous wealth conference; sharing a Māori perspective on trauma-informed financial literacy, learning from Indigenous communities, building relationships with entrepreneurs and organisations, and creating momentum for Māori Millionaire beyond Aotearoa.
JOINT 2ND PLACE ($2,500)
Yesha Patel
AFTER
About the Business
After is Australia and New Zealand's doorstep textile recovery and recycling service — collecting end-of-life textiles from households, businesses and councils and diverting them from landfill, building infrastructure that doesn't yet exist to make doing the right thing simple, accessible and affordable.
The Problem
Australians throw out around 6,000kg of textiles every 10 minutes, and most ends up in landfill, even when people want to do the right thing. Items too worn, torn or stained to donate have nowhere to go. After fills that gap, curbing one of the fastest-growing waste streams across Australia and NZ.
How Funds Will Be Used
Grow After's operations across Australia and New Zealand by bringing on their first Operations Lead to scale sustainably across both markets.
JOINT 2ND PLACE ($2,500)
Catherine McDougall
SUPPORT PLUS
About the Business
Support Plus is a knowledge-capture tool for Australia's unpaid carers, helping them record the important details about the person they care for — so when someone else steps in, they step in knowing exactly who they're caring for.
The Problem
Australia has 3 million unpaid carers quietly holding knowledge that never makes it into official paperwork — the routines, comfort needs, preferences, and little quirks that make all the difference. When a primary carer takes a break, travels, faces an emergency or can no longer provide care, that knowledge is at risk of being lost. Support Plus lets carers capture and share it, so someone can step in with confidence. It's a vital system for the people who are the backbone of Australia's care system yet have few tools built for them.
How Funds Will Be Used
Make Support Plus accessible in multiple languages. Unpaid caregiving doesn't discriminate, and neither should access to support.
PEOPLE's CHOICE ($2,000)
Amelia Godfrey
PELVY
About the Business
Pelvy is a digital health platform helping people manage pelvic pain, bladder and bowel dysfunction, prolapse, sexual dysfunction, and pregnancy and postpartum concerns. By bringing exercises, education, reminders and treatment plans into one place, Pelvy helps people stay on track and get better outcomes from their care.
The Problem
Pelvic health conditions and pelvic floor dysfunction affect 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men, yet support between appointments is often limited. Patients forget advice, lose handouts, struggle to stay motivated, or cannot access ongoing specialist care because of cost, location, or long waitlists. Pelvy bridges this gap by bringing exercises, education, reminders and clinician advice into one place. By supporting patients between appointments, Pelvy helps people stay on track with treatment, improves adherence by up to 5x, and makes pelvic health support more accessible to those who need it most.
How Funds Will Be Used
Fund two highly requested clinician features: the ability to upload educational handouts and custom exercise videos/images. These additions will help accelerate adoption across clinics, allowing Pelvy to scale faster and bring evidence-based pelvic health support to more people, regardless of where they live or whether they can access ongoing specialist care.
What is the Moodi Female Founder Fund?
As the founder of Moodi, Kate Gatfield-Jeffries knows how hard it is to get an idea off the ground - and how much the right support at the right time can change everything.
The Moodi Female Founder Fund is a $15,000 cash grant for early-stage female founders across New Zealand and Australia. We don't take equity. We don't ask for anything in return. We just want to back women who are building something they believe in.
How is the $15,000 distributed?
There are four recipients:
Selected by a judging panel based on business vision, traction to date, and potential for growth.
Two runners-up selected by the same judging panel who stood out from the applicant pool.
After the top three are chosen, up to five finalists are put to a public vote. The applicant with the most votes wins.
Are you eligible?
The Moodi Female Founder Fund is for founders who:
How to apply
-
Check the criteria
Make sure you're eligible and understand what we're looking for. -
Submit your application
Tell us about you, your business, and what you'd do with the grant. It should take less than an hour. -
We review applications
All submissions are reviewed, and shortlisted applicants may be asked to share further information. -
We notify the recipient(s)
The Fund recipient(s) are notified via private email. -
We announce the recipient(s)
The Fund recipient(s) are announced via LinkedIn, potential media channels, and celebrated with the Moodi community.
Meet our past recipients
The Fund launched in 2025 and has supported founders across consumer goods, fintech and healthcare.
1st place
Hannah Killgour
What the business is: Māori-designed clothing and essentials that bring Te Ao Māori into everyday life for pēpi, tamariki, and whānau.
What the fund was used for: Scaling inventory and switching to sea freight to improve margins as the business grew.
“Winning the grant didn't just allow us to grow our business into sea shipping - it gave me the confidence to believe that our business could truly succeed, and that I could too. Having someone like Kate believe in me has been one of the biggest blessings for myself and my whānau.”
2nd= place
Lucy Kough
What the business is: A fintech platform that turns everyday spending into superannuation contributions, helping women close the 28% retirement savings gap.
What the fund was used for: Covering legal costs to navigate the highly regulated fintech space.
“The Moodi grant 2025 gave me the belief that anything was possible. At a time I was running low on energy and resources, Kate’s kindness, faith and incredible network not only opened doors, but allowed me to dream bigger and back myself 100%.”
2nd= place
Grace Toombs
What the business is: Australia's first at-home cervical cancer and STI screening service, making women's health testing stigma-free and accessible.
What the fund was used for: Funding bold marketing campaigns to reach more women.
“Kate was the first person to truly believe in the June mission, and that early conviction meant everything. The Moodi Grant gave me the confidence and resources to move from cautious experimentation into intentional, data-driven marketing, allowing me to test and scale campaigns I would have previously avoided. It shifted my mindset around risk and make bolder decisions that are accelerating June’s growth.”
Got questions?
We've got your most common questions covered. View the full Terms & Conditions for more information or contact us at hey@moodiblends.com.
Applications open 10am NZT 9th April 2026 and close 11.59pm NZT 24th May 2026. We announce winners via emails and socials – sign up and follow us to stay in the loop.
The Fund for 2026 is $15,000 NZD across four recipients:
- 1st place - $8,000
- 2nd place (x2 winners) - $2,500
- People’s choice winner - $2,000
Note: all amounts are in NZD.
Yes! All applicants who have not been recipients previously can apply.
Any type business in any industry that meets the applicant requirements and is solving an interesting problem or has a purposeful mission.
We are looking for founders or co-founders who are building a business in the early stages, and have launched with an idea they're serious about bringing to life.
You will see a thank you page when you complete your form. Seeing this screen means we have received your application. We will then be in touch directly after applications close regarding the status of your application
Shortlisted applicants will hear from us by mid-June 2026. This will consist of Moodi’s three selected winners, as well as anyone shortlisted for the People’s Choice voting.
Once Moodi has selected our top three, we will select a top 5 to put to a People’s Choice vote. Voting will take place over the course of one week, and the People’s Choice winner will be announced along with the Moodi winners before 30th June 2026.
Actively trading in means that you have registered your business, and are currently at any of the below stages (or further along):
- You have an MVP, or live product or service that you are actively working on
- You've signed deals, partnerships, or LOIs – even if nothing has paid out yet
- You've hired staff or brought on contractors, or engaged suppliers to build your product or service
- You've secured funding, pre-orders, or commitments from customers or partners
- You're operating – spending time and resources actively building
