According to the Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship, up to £250 billion of new value could be added to the UK economy if women started and scaled new businesses at the same rate as UK men. While there is still a gender gap when it comes to acquiring funding for start-ups, once funded, female-led businesses are just as likely as all-male teams to go on to raise additional rounds of capital.

To mark International Women’s Day 2020, we’re celebrating three impactful female-founded businesses – and the amazing women behind them –offering innovative and sustainable solutions to significant social and environmental challenges, supported by the Conduit Connect.

The one changing the way you shop

Madeline Petrow, MAMOQ

MAMOQ is an online marketplace that offers sustainable alternatives to current fast fashion trends.

What problem are you trying to solve with MAMOQ?

At MAMOQ, our goal is to empower customers to find style that matches their values. Despite the growing desire from consumers to shop more sustainably, it can be extremely difficult to locate style-forward brands with a core commitment to ethics and respect for the planet. That’s why we seek out the best independent labels, bringing together over 100 fashion brands in one home so that our customers can easily find style they are proud to wear.

What are you most proud of in your entrepreneurial journey so far?

The entire process of setting up and scaling MAMOQ has been such an immense, rewarding learning curve. I think I’m most proud of slowly unshackling fears of imposter syndrome and embracing our achievements and growth. From creating a community of over 100 incredible independent labels, to donating over 1,000 meals to Felix Project through our Black Friday Campaign, it’s been incredible to see the power of combining business with purpose. Having the opportunity to explain sustainable fashion to Her Majesty The Queen was also certainly a moment I will never forget!

What are your aspirations for the growth of MAMOQ?

By offering a convenient, sustainable, and fashionable alternative to the high street, we hope to lead a market transformation that fundamentally shifts fashion-buying behaviour. We want to see a slower pace of consumption, where brands rooted in ethics rise to the top. And we’d like to prove once and for all that sustainable fashion is not just burlap sack dresses!

Conduit members can get 15% off at MAMOQ  with the code CONDUIT15.

The one cleaning up your air

Angelika Davenport, Tincture

Tincture  is a 100% natural household cleaning products brand that uses botanical extracts, plant-based actives and pure essential oils.

What problem are you trying to solve with Tincture?

Today we spend over 90% of our time indoors, where the air inside is up to five times more polluted than directly outside (US/UK EPA studies 2019); the main contributors being the excessive use of toxic chemicals that we use in our daily lives, in particular household cleaning products. These release pollutants known as VOCs (volatile organic compounds) into the air that react with their surroundings and mix to create toxic cocktails such as formaldehyde. Thus, VOCs not only have a damaging effect on our environment, but also directly impact our indoor air quality, having a huge impact on the health of our families. Poor indoor air quality and the release of VOCs has been linked to respiratory conditions, dermatological problems and endocrine disruptors, as well as affecting our mental health.

At TINCTURE, we have worked extremely hard with leading scientists and research institutions to create formulations which not only work effectively but also take the health of our planet and that of our families into consideration. We exclude all ingredients that are known to cause adverse reactions or damage the environment.

What are you most proud of in your entrepreneurial journey so far?

When customers write to us with amazing feedback and stories as to how switching to TINCTURE products has literally changed their lives. A mother shared with us how her eight-year-old daughter had been allergic to every eco-cleaner on the market with partially hospitalising reactions. TINCTURE was the first cleaning range she could use safely around her child without a reaction, which meant the world to her! It is these personal testimonials which make us work even harder and keep us all going when things get tough.

What are your aspirations for the growth of Tincture?

I am a passionate toxin-free campaigner, so I really wish to raise awareness of the damaging effects these ‘unseen’ chemicals have on our lives and our environment whilst providing simple and practical solutions for everyone to benefit. My dream is that every household cuts down on their daily use of toxic chemicals and switches to natural alternatives, wherever possible. We also hope to alleviate the “cleaning business” to a different level of consciousness. It is not something dirty and boring you need to do daily; it should be part of your health regime at home: healthy home, healthy family and healthy planet.

The one putting community at the heart of healthcare

Tamara Rajah, Live Better With

Live Better With is a global consumer healthcare platform for people with long-term health conditions.

What problem are you trying to solve with Live Better With?

At Live Better with, we’re trying to improve the day-to-day lives of everyone living with a long-term health condition. Patients, loved ones and carers don’t know about all the practical support that can help bring relief, such as products, advice, tips and services. Even if they know about them, they don’t know where to find them. For someone with a chronic condition, the search costs should be zero.

What are you most proud of in your entrepreneurial journey so far?

I’m most proud of having helped over 200,000 people find relief from symptoms and side effects.

What are your aspirations for the growth of Live Better With?

To reach every single patient in the world who is suffering from every single long-term condition (2bn+ lives), with a platform on which they can discover all the practical support that might make their day-to-day life a little bit better.

All of the businesses featured in this piece are being supported by the Conduit Connect to find valuable resources within the Conduit community, including capital, talent, knowledge, networks and technology. To learn more, please contact info@theconduitconnect.com

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