New Zealand–founded wellness brand Moodi has announced the expansion of its Female Founder Fund, a scheme to back early-stage women entrepreneurs with no-strings-attached funding.
The 2026 Moodi Female Founder Fund will provide $15,000 in no-equity, no-repayment grants, awarded to four female founders across New Zealand and Australia, with winners receiving direct cash funding with no obligation, ownership exchange or ongoing commitments.
Founded by Kate Gatfield-Jeffries, Moodi is one of Australasia’s fastest-growing female-led consumer brands – built without investors, loans or external capital.
“Starting Moodi was incredibly rewarding, but it was also financially and emotionally tough,” said Kate.
“I didn’t pay myself for the first two years, and there were so many moments where a small amount of support would have changed everything. This fund exists to be that support for someone else.”
The Female Founder Fund is a direct extension of that journey, designed to give women building businesses the practical backing Kate says she wished she’d had in her early days.
The fund was created amid continued concern about the funding gap facing women entrepreneurs.
Female-only founded startups receive just 2.9% of venture capital investment in New Zealand, despite strong evidence that women-led businesses deliver competitive – and often superior – returns[1].
“Too many great ideas never get the chance to grow because the funding system wasn’t built with women in mind,” said Kate.
“This fund is small in the scheme of venture capital, but it’s meaningful, practical, and founder-first. Sometimes a few thousand dollars is the difference between giving up or going all in.”
About the Fund
The 2026 fund includes:
- $8,000 for one first-place recipient
- $2,500 each for two second-place recipients
- $2,000 People’s Choice Award, voted on by the Moodi community
The fund is open to female founders or co-founders who are actively trading, early-stage, and based in New Zealand or Australia. Applications open 8 April and close 24 May 2026.
Last year’s pilot fund attracted thousands of applications, with Gatfield-Jeffries personally reviewing every submission.
The inaugural 2025 recipients included:
- Hannah Killgour, founder of The Pepi Pozy, a New Zealand-based brand focused on Māori-designed clothing and essentials, bringing Te Ao Māori into everyday life for pēpi, tamariki, and whānau.
- Lucy Kough, founder of startup Tap the Gap, a fintech platform that turns everyday spending into superannuation contributions, helping women close the 28% retirement savings gap.
- Grace Toombs, founder of June Health, a pioneering at-home cervical cancer and STI screening service, making women’s health testing stigma-free and accessible.
All three founders were in early stages of growth and used the funding to invest in product development, operational capability and momentum at a critical point in their journeys.
Founder-led impact
Beyond building Moodi, Kate Gatfield-Jeffries has become one of New Zealand’s most influential voices for female founders, reaching hundreds of thousands through LinkedIn, Instagram and podcast appearances.
She was named EY Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2025 and is vocal about building ambitious global businesses from New Zealand.
I hope this fund can help open doors for other female entrepreneurs, because when women build businesses, we all benefit.
Applications for the Moodi Female Founder Fund are now open here.
About Moodi
Moodi is a women’s wellness brand built on the belief that science-backed supplements can taste incredible and be effective.
Today, more than 200,000 women across Australasia trust Moodi’s range of functional supplements, which includes Pre + Probiotic Blends, PM and AM Blends, Hormone Gummies, Enhanced Electrolytes and Functional Protein.
[1] The Gender Investment Gap (2024)
