Ten women entrepreneurs share £350k fund to boost business growth

Pictured (L-R) are Dr Carolyn Perkins, Founder, AllPetz and Kathryn Hill, Chief Operating Officer at Invest NI

Ten women entrepreneurs from across Northern Ireland are each receiving £35,000 from the Female Founders Proof of Concept Grant Fund.  

The support will help each business to test and develop an innovative early-stage concept, supporting the founders to explore commercial potential and plan for future growth.

One of the funding recipients is AllPetz, a fintech platform that helps pet owners pay for veterinary care, and understand costs and insurance cover upfront. Founded by veterinary surgeon Dr Carolyn Perkins, the platform aims to make veterinary pricing clearer and more accessible for both owners and practices. 

Carolyn said: “Working with Techstart Ventures and Women in Business NI will be instrumental in fuelling the future success of the business. The mentoring, connections and resources will help me build on previous support from Invest NI’s Founder Labs programme, which gave me the tools to launch AllPetz and the confidence to scale my ambition.”  

The ten businesses span a range of sectors from financial services to healthcare and include:

• AllPetz, Belfast
• Atlas Health, Holywood
• Mude Clothing, Belfast
• Wonderleap, Derry~Londonderry
• Reflectrr, Belfast
• Equivantage Animal Health, Newtownards
• Cast Planning, Belfast
• The Influencer Hub Marketplace, Derry~Londonderry
• KYC Ireland, Craigavon
• Signal Proptech, Holywood

Carolyn added: “This recognition really validates the work I’ve put into the business. It gives me confidence to keep building AllPetz and move the idea forward as a viable commercial venture.”

The funding is provided by Techstart Ventures, part of Invest Northern Ireland’s Access to Finance programme. The companies will also receive mentoring support from Women in Business NI.

Kathryn Hill, Chief Operating Officer at Invest NI, said: “Invest NI’s Access to Finance programme plays a key role in helping local entrepreneurs turn strong ideas into sustainable businesses, supporting a more regionally balanced start‑up ecosystem. This partnership between Techstart Ventures and Women in Business NI is helping to remove barriers and support women-led companies at a crucial stage in their start-up journey.

“The quality and range of ideas coming forward from the founders shows the strength and appetite of women’s entrepreneurship locally. We remain committed to helping women start, scale and grow successful businesses across Northern Ireland - congratulations to all ten founders.”