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85 Eco-Initiatives Secure €4.8bn in EU’s Biggest Climate Tech Drive The EU Innovation Fund has announced its largest-ever funding allocation, supporting 85 cutting-edge projects across 18 countries to boost Europe’s clean technology sector. The European Commission has committed €4.8 billion in grants to accelerate net-zero
Did
Y O U Know...
ONLY 10%
of Fortune 500 CEOs are women.
That's 51 women,
ONLY 3 of which are black.
Women earned on average 18% LESS per hour than men in 2023.
8% of CEO positions in the S&P 500 are held by women - yet they represent
MORE than 50% of the United States' population
W O M A N Who Inspire Us
Grace Beverley is a British entrepreneur, author, and advocate for sustainability and female entrepreneurship. She is the founder of several successful brands, including TALA, Shreddy, and The Productivity Method.
- TALA (2019): A sustainable activewear brand committed to ethical production, inclusivity, and affordability.
- Shreddy: A fitness technology platform offering workout plans, meal guides, and equipment.
- The Productivity Method: A resource platform providing tools and strategies to enhance productivity and work-life balance.
Beyond her businesses, Grace is a vocal advocate for sustainability and female entrepreneurship. In early 2024, she actively campaigned against proposed changes to UK angel investing regulations, which sought to raise the income threshold for investors from £100,000 to £170,000. Critics argued this would disproportionately impact female founders, who already receive only 2% of UK venture capital funding.
Grace worked with the #InvestHER campaign, led by Lodestone Communications, to challenge the proposal. The campaign included a private letter to the Chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee, signed by over 200 high-profile women, and an open letter to the Chancellor with nearly 3,000 signatures, including broadcaster Mary Portas. As a result, the Chancellor reinstated the previous eligibility criteria for angel investors in the Spring 2024 Budget.
Whitney Wolfe Herd (born July 5, 1989) is an American entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Bumble, a dating and social networking app designed to give women more control in online interactions. Before Bumble, she played a key role in developing Tinder, helping shape its branding and marketing. However, she left in 2014 after filing a sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit, which was later settled.
Later that year, she launched Bumble with backing from Badoo’s founder, Andrey Andreev. The app stood out by allowing only women to initiate conversations in heterosexual matches, challenging traditional dating norms. Under her leadership, Bumble expanded into a multi-faceted platform for networking and friendships.
In 2021, Wolfe Herd became the youngest female CEO to take a company public when Bumble debuted on NASDAQ with a valuation exceeding $13 billion. Beyond business, she is a vocal advocate for women’s empowerment, workplace equality, and online safety, earning recognition on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 and Time 100 lists.
Sharesies is a New Zealand-based investment platform founded in 2017 with the mission to make investing accessible to everyone. The platform allows users to start investing with as little as $5, making wealth-building more inclusive. Sharesies offers access to shares, ETFs, and managed funds across New Zealand, Australia, and the US markets.
Since its launch, Sharesies has grown significantly, now serving over 700,000 investors and managing around $5 billion in assets. The company has expanded its reach to Australia and continues to innovate in financial education, aiming to remove barriers to investing.
Together, they have helped redefine investing in New Zealand and Australia, making it easier for people of all financial backgrounds to grow their wealth.