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RISE UP

Seed grant and pre-accelerator programme for ambitious female founders

At Soda we are passionate about supporting women in business, particularly those tenacious enough to start their own business.

We created RISE UP in 2021 to encourage more women to consider entrepreneurship as a viable career, to lift the capability of female founders and champion female entrepreneurship in Aotearoa.

RISE UP 2023

RISE UP is a seed grant and pre-accelerator programme for globally ambitious female founders. We will select five ambitious female founders to go through a series of founder-focussed workshops, culminating in a pitch night where the winner will take away $10,000 cash!

Finalists & Pitch Night info

Our 2023 RISE UP finalists are:

Read more about our 2023 finalists.

RISE UP 2023 PITCH NIGHT TICKETS

Join us at our RISE UP Pitch Night on 29 August in Hamilton to watch our five finalists pitch their business to try to win $10,000. Find out more and get your FREE ticket here.

Important Dates

1 June 2023        Applications open

23 June 2023     Applications close

3 July 2023         Finalists confirmed

17 July 2023        Pre-accelerator programme starts

29 August 2023  Pitch night

WANT TO KNOW MORE? CHECK OUT RISE UP 2022

Our six finalists pitched their business to a public audience and panel of high-profile judges at Wintec House in Hamilton on 17 August 2022.

The winner of RISE UP 2022 was Finery. Read more.

Check out all the event photos.

Watch our 2-minute highlights video.

Watch the recorded livestream of the event.

RISE UP

What our students say

What our RISE UP 2022 winner said

Start-Ups

Customised start-up support programmes for entrepreneurs in New Zealand.

Business Growth

We take small businesses away from today's issues and into tomorrow's opportunities.

Co-Working

Let us sort your workspace for you. Flexible options to reside in a comfortable space.