The Purple Maia Foundation's inaugural Hawaii FoundHer cohort for women entrepreneurs has launched with five local businesses.
Hawaii FoundHer is a six-month accelerator program made for Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Asian women founders of businesses in five areas of Hawaii’s economy: tech, fashion, health and wellness, food and restaurants, and keiki and education.
It is one of the first local cohorts geared specifically for women, along with Central Pacific Bank Foundation's WE by Rising Tide. Hawaii FoundHer aims to provide funding, child and elder care, and mentorship for its portfolio companies.
The Hawaii FoundHer companies were each awarded $20,000 in non-dilutive grants and $4,000 for childcare on their first day of the program this month.
The companies are: Aina Organics, which sources hemp biomass on Kauai; Hawaii Farm Trails, a regenerative agriculture enterprise that promotes agritourism; Kokua Diaper, a Maui cloth diaper delivery specialist; Polipoli Farms, an agroforestry farm specializing in mamaki tea mix on Maui; and Waimea Herb Co., which cultivates Hawaiian herbal teas on Hawaii Island.
"I am so impressed by FoundHer's multi-pronged strategy to offer personal support, business guidance, and capital investment, all in a single program," Lehia Apana, co-founder Polipoli Farms, told Pacific Business News in an email. "This holistic approach focuses on the real-life woman behind each business, and meeting them where they are currently at, versus simply evaluating numbers on a spreadsheet."
According to Purple Maia, women start businesses at twice the rate of men, and generate a better return on investment than men on average, but receive only 2-3% of all venture capital.
Hawaii Foundher was co-founded by Bella Hughes, the co-founder and president of Shaka Tea, and Gloria Lau, former CEO at YWCA USA.
"Women and especially women of color are historically over-mentored and underfunded," Hughes said in a statement. "The barriers to entry to build a new business with a clear path to profitability are increasingly more challenging and very few accelerators and incubators are designed to empower women entrepreneurs holistically. We are thrilled to offer a new program focused on Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women-led businesses that combines tailored mentorship with non-dilutive, early-stage capital to grow their business, coupled with support for those in caretaking roles, whether they have children or take care of their kupuna."
