The Aurora Tech Award 2025 was held in Cairo from April 11-13, bringing together the top 10 finalists from around the world. This edition of the Aurora Tech Award was the most competitive yet, with 2,018 submissions from around the world; these ten finalists constituted the top 0.5%, having made it through a multi-stage global selection process led by venture capitalists.
Over the weekend, each finalist pitched her venture to a jury of investors, operators, and public sector leaders. The jury, in turn, sought to determine exactly which founders have the clearest path to building market-defining companies.
And so, here they are – our extraordinary 2025 winners:
In fifth place: Leonie Korn, with UpLeap (Switzerland). Upleap is an AI-driven platform that is changing the face of medical training through interactive, hands-on simulations.
In fourth place is Laura Velásquez Herrera, with Arkangel AI (Colombia). Arkangel AI uses artificial intelligence to tackle preventable diseases through early detection. Their AI SaaS platform transforms medical data into AI algorithms without requiring coding expertise.
Shreya Prakash and FlexiBees (India) is our third place winner. Flexibees addresses a critical global challenge: low female workforce participation. The platform connects experienced women professionals with businesses through flexible, project-based, and remote work models, creating a win-win solution for both talent and employers.
Loretxu Garcia Arraztoa, founder of Nido Contech (Chile) took second place. Nido Contech develops nature-based materials to reduce costs and environmental impact in the construction industry.
And finally, taking the top spot is…
Solape Akinpelu with HerVest (Nigeria)! This is a fintech platform that gives financially underserved women in Africa access to savings, impact investing, and credit, particularly for female smallholder farmers. In short, HerVest uses technology to economically empower women, and so give them the tools to improve their lives.
Huge congratulations to our winners and their incredible ventures! We look forward to watching your progress, and wish you all the best in growing your contribution to your industry – and beyond.
