EmpowHER Scholarship Winners Announced For 2024

Dermalogica and SABEN are pleased to announce the 2024 winners of the EmpowHER and startup scholarships for business acceleration powered by The Icehouse. This year the prizes and opportunities were even greater, with a total prize pool valued at over $31,000. A big drawcard for female entrepreneurs was also the money-can’t-buy coaching and mentorship on offer with each of the CEOs across each category.

The 2024 winners are:

• EmpowHER scholarship prize: Megan King of Finding Voices https://findingvoices.co.nz/
• EmpowHER runner-up: Anita Sherry of Sherry Kitchen https://sherrykitchen.co.nz/
• Start-up winner: Alicia Haszard of PĀMU https://pamustore.com/

The $21.6K EmpowHER prize consists of a $5,000 financial boost along with 12 months of personalised business coaching from each of the three brands CEOs, Natasha Bourke from Dermalogica, Roanne Jacobson from SABEN and Liz Wotherspoon from The Icehouse. It will have positive ramifications for Megan King, from Finding Voices, a small family centred practice specialising in individualised and functional speech-language therapy for children and young adults

Megan says about winning the EmpowHER scholarship, “I am over the moon to have won EmpowHER. It is the next step the business needs and means we are going to be able to reach more children. What fuels me is the amazing people that I have met and who have helped me on this journey. I am most looking forward to the coaching with the three CEOs which is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for an entrepreneur like me to leverage the expertise of the best in the business.”

“We couldn’t be happier to award EmpowHER to Megan King. We were thoroughly impressed with her unique business, entrepreneurial spirit, and plans for growth for Finding Voices. This year’s judging process has been especially difficult with numerous strong contenders who applied, but Megan was the clear forerunner due to her sense of purpose and the social impact of her business. Her submission also resonated at a personal level, as both Roanne and I have had our children undergo speech therapy in the past. Therefore, we recognise the need for this therapy in our communities and more awareness about the services on offer to help those in need.” comments Natasha Bourke, CEO of Dermalogica.

Comments Roanne Jacobson, CEO of SABEN, “We are also really excited to see Alicia Haszard of PĀMU awarded the start-up prize. PĀMU is a unique Māori owned and operated jewellery brand created by Alicia, who is a passionate innovator and entrepreneur with big plans, including opening a brick-and-mortar store this year. We felt that Alicia could benefit most from the coaching as both Natasha and I have experience in this area.”

As part of the grand prize Megan King will also receive a 2-day workshop from The Icehouse and a ‘Knowing Your Numbers Session’ with Frank Accounting. Plus, a $1000 SABEN voucher and a Dermalogica voucher to the value of $1000 worth of professional-grade skincare products.

Anita Sherry the runner-up for the EmpowHER scholarship, also wins a prize valued at $5,695 which includes coaching with each of the three CEOs plus other great prizes from the brands. Anita comments, “Sherry Kitchen has been a labour of love for me. My business mentor sadly passed away and not having someone to soundboard off, and to offer advice to take my business to the next level has been challenging.”

Alicia Haszard of PĀMU, the winner of the $4K start-up category comments, “I’m deeply grateful for this opportunity, it will not only have a positive impact on the PĀMU's future but will help PĀMU flourish and bring us closer to our goal of showcasing our beautiful designs to the world.”

Concludes Liz Wotherspoon, CEO of The Icehouse, “Sadly we are going through challenging economic times which are impacting all businesses no matter their size, but it appears small businesses are being hit especially hard. There is a greater need for scholarships such as EmpowHER to support women in business to thrive. We are so excited to assist Megan, Anita, and Alicia on their journeys to take their brands to the next level.

Stay tuned to the progress of these three entrepreneurs and their mentorship via Dermalogica, Saben, and The Icehouses’ social media channels.

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