The annual award spotlights outstanding female founders in emerging markets, celebrating visionary women entrepreneurs who are redefining the technology landscape.
The Aurora Tech Award has unveiled its 2025 finalists.
This year’s shortlist features trailblazing founders from MENA, LATAM, Central Asia and APAC, who lead startups across industries such as artificial intelligence, fintech, healthtech and more.
This year’s finalists are said to have demonstrated exceptional leadership and technological advancements in their respective fields.
The 2025 Aurora Tech Award finalists are:
- Shreya Prakash, founder of FlexiBees (India) – flexible talent platform, helping businesses source part-time and project-based workers pooled from highly qualified women seeking remote work.
- Laura Velásquez Herrera, founder of Arkangel AI (Colombia) – AI SaaS that transforms medical data into AI algorithms without code.
- Manzo Nyifamu Ogechi, founder ofFarmatrix (Nigeria) – an easier means to buy and supply farm products.
- Gulnaza Khalmanbetova, founder of Mama Space (Kyrgyzstan) – an AI-guided support system for moms and moms-to-be.
- Thais Sterenberg de Oliveira, founder of Elephan (Brazil) – an AI-enabled B2B SaaS that helps to attract and manage leads and clients.
- Leonie Korn, founder of UpLeap (Switzerland) – an AI-driven platform to revolutionize medical training through short, hands-on simulations.
- Veronica Lee, founder Borderless (Uzbekistan) – an all-in-one AI-powered college counseling platform for international students.
- Solape Akinpelu, founder of HerVest (Nigeria) – a fintech platform empowering women through inclusive financial services.
- Loretxu García, founder of Nido Contech (Chile), nature-based solutions for the construction industry.
- Heiura Itae Tetaa, founder of E-Reo (French Polynesia) – a solution for digitizing indigenous languages.
Half of the startups represented by the finalists are at the seed stage; three projects are at the pre-seed level; and the rest are at the so-called friends and family and angel investment stages. Three of the startups focus on healthtech, one on agrotech, one on eco-tech, two on ed-tech, one on fintech and one on HR-tech.
The Aurora Tech Award is a global prize dedicated to supporting and recognizing women founders of early-stage technology startups. Established in 2020 by inDrive, the award is granted annually to champion female entrepreneurs who drive innovation and create meaningful social impact through technology.
Isabella Ghassemi-Smith, Head of the Aurora Tech Award, said: “Aurora isn’t just a tech award – it’s a launchpad for the next generation of unicorn founders in emerging markets. With funding, high-profile investor access and a global network, we back the boldest women in tech who are building ventures that will redefine industries”.
The finalists were selected based on the innovation, scalability, and social impact of their startups.
A panel of industry experts and investors will evaluate their work before announcing the winner at the upcoming Aurora Tech Award series of events in Cairo on April 11-13, 2025.
The final pitch competition will be held at SHE CAN 2025, organized by Entreprenelle, whose primary objective is to support and empower women who seek to be entrepreneurs and business leaders.
The Aurora Tech Award’s panel of venture capitalists highlighted this year’s finalists for their exceptional potential, strong market traction and innovative solutions addressing critical challenges.
The startups that these women founders represent have demonstrated impressive growth, clear business models and proven market demand – backed by highly skilled and experienced founding teams.
From leveraging cutting-edge technology to filling key industry gaps, their impact is evident through third-party recognition, strong customer engagement and scalable business strategies.
The Aurora Tech Award team says it looks forward to seeing the startups’ continued success in transforming industries and creating lasting impact and value.
