A major international conference in Auckland is putting the spotlight on how to better support female founders and highlighting wāhine Māori perspectives on entrepreneurship.

The Diana International Research Conference from 1-4 July, brings together top researchers and industry experts from around the world to tackle funding inequities, structural barriers and discuss the future of women-led enterprise, with a spotlight on te ao Māori perspectives.

“This is the only conference that focuses solely on women’s entrepreneurship research, and it’s an opportunity to garner insights from interested attendees, researchers and founders,” says Professor Chris Woods, the Business School’s Theresa Gattung Chair for Women in Entrepreneurship, and Diana Conference co-chair.

“We’ll be asking: What do women entrepreneurs want? How do we bridge the gap between academic research and industry, and how can we tackle the barriers women face when building businesses?”

Hosted by the Business School’s Aotearoa Centre for Enterprising Women, the conference includes keynote talks, academic sessions, and a public-facing Impact Day on Friday 4 July, a one-day forum featuring panels on capital access, wāhine Māori leadership, and entrepreneurial futures.

The day opens with ‘A boomer, Gen X, millennial and Gen Z walk into a panel’: Mana wāhine across the generations’.

Business School senior lecturer Dr Kiri Dell (Ngāti Porou) says the panel will spotlight the unique strengths wāhine Māori bring to entrepreneurship. The kōrero will also explore te ao Māori concepts of sovereignty and entrepreneurship.

“It’s about being role models, sharing networks and giving each other emotional support, challenging mainstream models of the ‘hyper solo, winner takes all’ entrepreneur model,” says Dell. “We’ll discuss what values-led approaches, honouring both the past and the present, can look like.”

Next up, ‘The Supply and Demand Challenge: Getting More Capital to Women-Led Businesses’ panel will discuss why women still receive just 2 percent of global venture capital investment, with insights from venture capital, angel investment, and female founders actively raising capital.

In the final session, business leader, author, philanthropist and investor Dame Theresa Gattung joins Darsel Keane (Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship), Sophie Bradley (co-CEO, Girls Mean Business), and research fellow Dr Amanda Elam (co-founder, Galaxy Diagnostics) to explore what the future holds for wāhine entrepreneurs in Aotearoa and beyond.

Panel MC and conference co-host Dr Janine Swail, a senior lecturer at the Business School, says it’s a privilege to host a conference that spans academic research, PhD students, practitioners and community voices.

“This is the only global conference that bridges academic research with real world insights and perspectives, with a dedicated focus on women’s entrepreneurship, and it’s happening here in Tāmaki Makaurau.”