Applications for EnergyLab’s Women in Climate and Energy Fellowship (WICEF) close on Sunday, May 29.
EnergyLab is Australia and New Zealand’s largest accelerator and innovation network for climate technology startups, aiming to achieve net zero emissions.
The organization recently signed up Ampol as a partner, with the fuel company providing funding and expertise to support EnergyLab’s WICEF program.
Launched in 2019, the Fellowship provides mentorship and access to investment networks needed by aspiring female entrepreneurs and over 70 women participated.
Graduate Annalize Kerr said the WICEF experience was not about “superficial networks.”
“It’s a community of passionate women who want to go against the grain, pursue entrepreneurship, inspire and be inspired,” she said.
“This experience has not only exposed me to the first steps of developing a startup, but has also given me the confidence to actively pursue my ideas and support the global transition to a carbon-free world.”
Another alumni, Vicky Featherston is co-founder of HAL systems – a cleantech startup in the start-up phase working on energy-efficient climate control for commercial buildings.
The Melbourne-born entrepreneur is the child of refugees from the Vietnam War.
“I come from the design industry, which makes me a bit unusual for a cleantech founder. So when we first founded HAL, I was eager to learn as much as I could about the energy efficiency sector of buildings,” she said.
“I wanted to understand how it worked, what the motivations were and what hindered innovation. So it was an exciting learning curve.
I have also discovered that there are many parallels between design and entrepreneurship. Both require lateral thinking and questioning the status quo, but still need to remain strict and purposeful.”
HAL is a predictive climate control for the commercial real estate market. it uses weather forecast data to make predictions about how a building will behave, and takes active control over a building’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning system to achieve energy savings.
Megan Fisher, CEO of EnergyLab, said the company is committed to promoting and supporting gender equality in the climate technology sector.
“With less than 20% of climate technology startups being founded by women, more attention is needed on this issue,” she said.
“We thank Ampol for their sponsorship and appreciate the shared commitment to support the next generation of female founders through our Women in Climate and Energy Fellowship.”
Brent Merrick, director of Ampol, said the partnership is part of the company’s future energy and decarbonization strategies.
“We are proud to support EnergyLab’s Women in Climate and Energy Fellowship to provide the mentorship and support needed to make climate technology startups successful and meet the gender equality challenges in the industry. get it,” he said.
“We look forward to working with EnergyLab to support the success of female cleantech entrepreneurs in the years to come.”
Applications for the 2022 Fellowship intake close on Sunday, May 29. For details and to apply, click here†