Australia and New Zealand’s leading transport energy distributor Ampol has partnered with Australia and New Zealand’s largest climate tech startup accelerator network EnergyLab to support the Women in Climate and Energy Fellowship.
Designed to inspire and support more women to launch climate tech startups, the Fellowship, run by EnergyLab, aims to create a pathway for women entrepreneurs by providing mentorship and access to investment networks for up-and-coming entrepreneurs.
WICEF gives women in the industry opportunities to gain skills and network with other individuals in the sector, over a three-month period.
Since its start in 2019, over 70 women have successful graduated from the program, including WICEF graduate Naureen Alam, a chartered chemical engineer and energy leader who says the Fellowship is a great steppingstone into the industry.
“What drew me to the fellowship was that it didn’t rely on you to already be on that path. It sounded like a great program for people interested in making an impact in the clean energy and climate space,” she said.
Another prominent alumna from WiCEF is Co-Founder of HAL Systems, Vicky Featherston, who says the Fellowship allowed her to connect with other women in the sector.
“Through WICEF, I’ve met some incredible women with amazing credentials and experience, what I discovered is that despite their success, they can still have doubts and insecurities at times, this helped me to realise that I’m not the only one,” she said.
Ampol executive general manager Brent Merrick says the partnership will help mould part of Ampol’s future energy and decarbonisation strategies, while achieving its diversity and inclusion objectives.
“We’re proud to support EnergyLab’s Women in Climate and Energy Fellowship to help provide the mentorship and support required to make climate tech start-ups successful, and to help address gender equity challenges in the sector,” he said.
We look forward to working with EnergyLab to support the success of women clean tech entrepreneurs in the years ahead.
Brent Merrick, Ampol executive general manager
EnergyLab chief executive officer Megan Fisher also believes the partnership with Ampol is critical in the step towards gender equality.
“With less than 20% of climate tech startups being founded by women, there is more focus required on this issue, we thank Ampol for their sponsorship and appreciate the shared commitment to support the next generation of women founders through our Women in Climate and Energy Fellowship,” she said.
Applications for the Women in Climate and Energy Fellowship close this Sunday, 29 May.
