Last Sunday was International Women’s Day, and what better time to celebrate the top ten finalists in this year’s Aurora Tech Awards?
Announced on 24 February this year, these are the startups founded and run by women that have run the Aurora Tech gauntlet. They’ve passed through several stages of evaluation by the award’s VC partners to emerge as the top-rated contenders, based on commercial viability, founder potential, and investor interest.
As a nod to International Women’s Day, let’s take a second to reflect on why having women in tech really matters, beyond the basic fairness of it all: Simply put, technology shapes everyday life, and the greater the diversity of the people shaping tech, the fairer and more innovative it in turn will be, serving a greater range of needs and use cases.
And, as women make up about 50% of the world’s users and consumers, they clearly need to be involved in designing technology, to ensure that women’s needs aren’t overlooked. Just as importantly, they make up a huge source of talent, innovation and labour: each year, the Aurora Tech Awards finalists provide a vivid illustration of this point.
So, here’s a brief roundup of this year’s fabulous finalists (in no particular order):
Mercedes Bidart, Quipu, (Colombia): Quipu uses AI algorithms to assess the creditworthiness of informal microenterprises. Microenterprises can apply via WhatsApp or the Quipu app and get working capital in less than 3 days. So far, Quipu has around 5,000 clients in Colombia, mostly women.
Angela Acosta, Morado (Colombia) Morado gives women entrepreneurs in the beauty industry (who have historically been underserved by financial institutions) access to credit. Morado supports more than 30,000 beauty businesses across Colombia, with over 72% receiving their first-ever credit through the platform.
Patricia Florencia, Pilou (Mexico) Pilou helps Latin Americans (especially women) build wealth by managing their investment accounts using an AI-powered wealth-tech platform. This is designed for women who want to begin investing but may lack access to financial knowledge, tools or support.
Mariana Zuliani, OncoAI (Brazil) OncoAI uses AI to help oncologists and healthcare institutions predict cancer recurrence and optimize treatment decisions by delivering personalized, data-driven clinical insights that improve outcomes and reduce unnecessary interventions.
Adeola Ayoola, Famasi (Nigeria) Famasi Africa is a platform that connects individuals and businesses to more than 1000 pharmacies to simplify medication management and streamline pharmacy operations.
Adriana Gonzalez, tizo (Panama) tizo uses AI to power inclusive e-commerce across Latin America so that everyone can buy, sell and generate assets - including those without Internet access, banking or access to traditional platforms.
Penny Musengi, Pesira Technologies Limited (Kenya) Pesira provides inclusive access to digital financial services and marketplaces that drive economic growth and sustainability using an integrated agritech platform.
Catalina Kawas, DomestikCo (Chile) DomestikCo helps household employers and domestic workers solve the problem of labor informality and lack of access to social protection, through a SaaS ecosystem that automates employment contracts, payroll, and labor benefits.
Estefania Abello, Muta (Colombia) MUTA is an all-in-one tool that empowers companies in the recycling industry to scale efficiently, providing full digitalization, operational efficiency, and traceability in an industry traditionally characterized by informality and lack of data.
Catalina Isaza, Innmetec (Colombia) Innmetec is a custom medical devices company that delivers safer, more effective, and accessible surgeries through personalized implants and digital planning.
These ten finalists will go on to pitch their companies in Santiago, Chile,where they’ll vie for visibility, access to investors and non-dilutive capital, and join a community that is growing in influence and reach.
Best of luck to them all!
