The Aurora Tech Award has unveiled the Award finalists for 2025. The annual award spotlights the best female founders in emerging markets, celebrating visionary women entrepreneurs who are redefining the technology landscape.

This year’s shortlist features trailblazing founders from MENA, LATAM, Central Asia, and APAC, each leading startups offering solutions across industries ranging from artificial intelligence and fintech to health tech and beyond. This year’s finalists have demonstrated exceptional leadership and technological advancements in their respective fields:

  • Shreya Prakash, founder of FlexiBees (India) – flexible talent platform with vetting for women.
  • Laura Velásquez Herrera, founder of Arkangel AI (Colombia) – AI SaaS that transforms medical data into AI algorithms without code.
  • Manzo Nyifamu Ogechi, founder of Farmatrix (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 (Brazilia) – 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 are at the seed stage, three projects are at the pre-seed level, and the rest are at FFF and angel investment stages. Three startups focus on health-tech, one on agrotech, one on eco-tech, two on ed-tech, one on fintech, and one on HR-tech.

The Aurora Tech Award is an annual global prize dedicated to supporting and recognizing women founders of early-stage technology startups. Established in 2020 by inDrive, the award champions female entrepreneurs who drive innovation and create meaningful social impact through technology.

“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”, said head of the Aurora Tech Awards, Isabella Ghassemi-Smith.

The finalists were selected based on the innovation, scalability, and social impact of their startups. A distinguished panel of industry experts and investors will evaluate their work before announcing the winner at the upcoming Aurora Tech Award Ceremony on April 11-13 in Cairo. The final pitch competition will be held at SHE CAN 2025 organized by Entreprenelle.

Feedback from the Aurora'Tech Award's panel of venture capitalists on this year’s finalists highlights their exceptional potential, strong market traction, and innovative solutions addressing critical challenges. These startups 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. Aurora VC recognizes their ability to drive meaningful change and looks forward to seeing their continued success in transforming industries and creating lasting value.

”Access to education and capital defines who gets to lead and innovate. When we fund women and create equal opportunities from the start, we’re not just empowering individuals—we’re unlocking solutions, industries, and entire economies. The question isn’t whether women are capable. The question is whether we’re bold enough to invest in their success”, said Thais Sterenberg (Brazil), the finalist and CEO at Elephan.

The winners will be announced at the Aurora Tech Award Ceremony, to be held in Cairo from 11-13 April. Stay updated by visiting www.auroratechaward.com and following us on Linkedin.

About the project

Aurora Tech Award is a non-profit initiative of inDrive, a global mobility and urban services platform. The Aurora Tech Award is an award for women tech startup founders whose projects have had a profound impact on global development. The objective is to support women in the field of advanced technologies, especially women entrepreneurs

inDrive operates in over 888 cities in 48 countries. Driven by its mission of challenging social injustice, the company is committed to having a positive impact on the lives of one billion people by 2030. It pursues this goal both through its core business, which supports local communities via a fair pricing model; and through the work of inVision, its non-profit arm. inVision’s community empowerment programs help to advance education, sports, arts and sciences, gender equality and other vital initiatives.

inDrive is a global mobility and urban services platform. The inDrive app has been downloaded over 200 million times, and was the second most downloaded mobility app in 2023. In addition to ride-hailing, inDrive provides an expanding list of urban services, including intercity transportation, freight delivery, task assistance and courier delivery. In 2023, inDrive launched New Ventures, a venture and M&A arm. For more information visit www.inDrive.com