The Aurora Tech Award, the only global award dedicated to backing outstanding female tech founders from emerging markets, has unveiled its Top 30 semifinalists for 2026.
This was a record-breaking year for Aurora, with 3,400 applications submitted from 127 countries, reflecting the rapid growth of female entrepreneurship across emerging economies.
Global Representation of the Top 30
The list of semifinalists features women-led startups from every major emerging region, with representation distributed as follows:
- Latin America (46.7%): Colombia, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Panama
- EMEA – Middle East & Africa (23.3%): Nigeria, Kenya, Tunisia, South Africa, Egypt
- APAC – Asia & Pacific (6.7%): India
- CIS (10%): Kazakhstan
- Others (13.3%): North America and Europe (including Ukraine)
Stage and Sector Breakdown
The Top 30 reflects a strong balance between early-stage founders, with 16 startups at the pre-seed stage and 14 at the seed stage.
Key technology trends among semifinalists:
- Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning – 7 startups
- Fintech – 7 startups (4 from Latin America)
- HealthTech & MedTech – 6 startups
- EdTech – 3 startups
- Enterprise Software – 2 startups
Single-representation sectors include AdTech & MarTech, AgriTech & FoodTech, Wellbeing, Longevity & Life Sciences, Energy & Sustainability, and Construction Tech, demonstrating both diversity and depth of innovation.
Inside Aurora’s Selection Process OR What It Takes to Make the Aurora Top 30
Aurora’s selection process is built to do one thing well: identify the strongest female founders in emerging markets.
Each year, thousands of companies are assessed through a multi-layered process that combines independent investor evaluation with Aurora’s own execution benchmarks.
Aurora works with a curated network of over 40 venture capital partners across Latin America, MENA, Africa, and South Asia. Startups are reviewed by investors with direct experience in their region, sector, and stage, ensuring informed judgement rather than generic scoring.
Every company is evaluated independently by multiple VC partners using a structured assessment framework developed with experienced operators and investors. Beyond scores, investors signal which founders they would want to engage with, because real investor conviction is a critical signal of market readiness.
Final Top 30 selection is determined by triangulating three signals:
- independent VC evaluations,
- demonstrated investor conviction, and
- performance in Aurora’s initial Top 100 assessment.
The result of this process is a shortlist of 30 exceptional female founders, rigorously vetted by investors with relevant regional and sector expertise, and already demonstrating traction with those investors. The Aurora Top 30 serves as a clear signal to the wider market: these are founders worth watching.
“Aurora’s selection process is deliberately designed to address one of the biggest barriers female founders face: access to investors and capital. By involving our global network of VCs directly in the evaluation process, Aurora ensures that founders are seen by relevant investors as they are being assessed, not after a list is published.
As a result, the Top 30 is not only a vetted shortlist, but a group of founders who have already been exposed to capital and investor attention, creating momentum on both sides before funding conversations formally begin,” said Isabella Ghassemi-Smith, Head of the Aurora Tech Award.
Aurora does more than platform these founders. Finalists gain access to non-dilutive capital of up to US$50,000, alongside strategic engagement designed to move companies forward, including early exposure to relevant investors, fundraising readiness, and informed market insight. This comes with global visibility, not instead of it. The result is not just attention, but leverage: capital, credibility, and positioning that meaningfully improves a founder’s path to the next stage.
Finalists will be announced in February 2026, with winners being celebrated at a global ceremony later in the year.
