Forward of International Women’s Day 2026 on March 8, this yr’s theme, “Give to Achieve”, highlights the ability of generosity, collaboration, and shared duty in advancing gender equality. The marketing campaign encourages people, organisations, and communities to contribute by mentorship, visibility, schooling, funding, and assist networks. The concept is easy: when alternatives are shared and assist is actively given, progress accelerates. Advancing girls in entrepreneurship, expertise, and enterprise capital will not be a zero-sum sport. When girls succeed, your entire innovation ecosystem turns into stronger.
Throughout Europe’s startup and enterprise capital panorama, many ladies are already embodying this spirit by constructing corporations, backing founders, mentoring the subsequent era, and advocating for extra inclusive entry to funding and management. Their work helps create new pathways for expertise and strengthens Europe’s place as a world hub for innovation.
In recognition of their impression, we current our annual listing of the 100 most influential girls shaping the European startup and enterprise capital ecosystem in 2026. After all, we all know that this quantity barely scratches the floor. Europe is house to many extra inspiring girls driving innovation throughout startups, funding, and expertise, and this listing represents solely a slender snapshot of the expertise and management the continent has to supply. These leaders are constructing corporations, supporting founders, and demonstrating that once we give alternatives, information, and assist, all of us achieve.
Agate Freimane: Common Accomplice of Norrsken VC, the primary impression VC within the Nordics, and among the many first in Europe. Agate is a trailblazing girl within the VC house and is captivated with impact-focused startups. She began her profession working in finance in London and New York, earlier than co-founding the edtech charity Brilliant Mentors.
Alice Albizzati: Founding accomplice of Revaia, a Paris-based agency targeted on European sustainable progress funding, partnering with mission-driven entrepreneurs. Alice has participated within the financing, structuring and oversight of greater than 35 progress corporations all through her profession. She additionally sits on the boards of Deepki and Hublo.
Alice Pelton: CEO and Co-Founding father of The Lowdown, the world’s first assessment platform for contraception. It’s now the UK’s main contraception and sexual and reproductive well being platform, utilized by hundreds of girls each day to make knowledgeable selections about their on a regular basis well being. The corporate helps lead a brand new era of interval empowerment.
Aline Vedder: Head of Expertise Diplomacy on the British Consulate-Common in Munich, she leads strategic initiatives that strengthen collaboration between the UK and Germany throughout areas reminiscent of AI, cybersecurity, and demanding applied sciences. Beforehand a Principal at Lakestar, one in all Europe’s main enterprise capital corporations.
Alisée de Tonnac: Founding father of Seedstars, a world organisation that helps high-growth startups in rising and frontier markets by enterprise funding and ecosystem-building programmes. Based mostly in Geneva, she works to foster entrepreneurship and financial growth throughout underserved areas.
Alix de Sagazan: Co-founder and CEO of AB Tasty, a world chief in function administration, experimentation and personalisation options that allow corporations to validate concepts, whereas maximising impression, minimising threat and accelerating time to market. She can be a board member of The Galion Mission and an investor with Galion.exe and Aspect Capital.
Ana Barjasic: Entrepreneur, angel investor, and coverage adviser. She established Connectology, a boutique company specialising in finance entry, funding readiness, and behavioural science. Amongst her important roles, she serves as a Board Member of the European Innovation Council, advocating for entrepreneurs from Horizon Europe’s widening nations.
Angelica Kohlmann: Entrepreneur, investor, and board member targeted on deep tech, biotech, and house applied sciences. With a background as a medical physician and PhD from the College of Hamburg, she serves on the Board of Administrators of Lonza, the place she chairs the Technique and Innovation Committee.
Ann Mettler: As Vice President at Breakthrough Vitality, the climate-focused funding fund based by Invoice Gates, she is driving crucial funding into transformative applied sciences. Ann beforehand served as Director-Common of the European Fee’s in-house suppose tank. Her work continues to create pathways for girls in tech and enterprise capital.
Anna Brailsford: CEO and Co-founder of Code First Women, a social enterprise targeted on closing the gender hole in expertise by offering coding schooling and profession alternatives for girls. Below her management, the organisation has educated a whole bunch of hundreds of girls and partnered with main corporations.
Aude Guo: Co-founder of Innovafeed, a startup that picked up one of many largest funding rounds in 2022 with a feminine chief. Based mostly in Paris, the corporate is reinventing how we strategy diet by constructing a round and zero-waste agri-food chain that displays bugs’ function in true, creating a brand new way of life with larger high quality, sustainability and resilience.
Briehan Burke: Briehan Burke is a Common Accomplice at Eager Enterprise Companions, the place she performs a crucial function in figuring out and supporting high-growth startups throughout deeptech, AI, and enterprise software program. With a eager give attention to fostering numerous management, she actively champions entrepreneurs and underrepresented founders.
Carlota Pi Amoros: Co-founder and CEO of Holaluz, a renewable power firm working to speed up the transition to 100% inexperienced power. Below her management, Holaluz has grown into one in all Spain’s most recognised clear power corporations, utilizing expertise and distributed power options to remodel the standard energy sector.
Caroline Noublanche: CEO of Epoca and Femtech pioneer, she co-founded and led Apricity, the world’s first digital fertility clinic. A board member at Bilendi and lively advisor in AI and healthtech, she combines entrepreneurial management with a robust give attention to technology-driven impression in healthcare and senior care.
Charlotte Baumhauer: In her function as Funding Supervisor with SquareOne, Charlotte is actively backing European tech corporations which are positively influencing the world by local weather tech innovation. Previous to this function, she labored with McKinsey, the place she was a part of the operations apply.
Chelsea Slater: Co-founder and CEO of InnovateHer, she works to empower the subsequent era, significantly women and underrepresented younger folks, to pursue careers in expertise. Based mostly within the UK, she collaborates with corporations and colleges to advertise digital expertise, range and inclusion throughout the tech trade.
Cintia Mano: Angel investor, board member, writer, and startup mentor with greater than 25 years of expertise spanning company management and entrepreneurship. She beforehand served as CEO of COREangels Worldwide, serving to develop a world community of angel buyers that has supported over 120 startups throughout a number of areas.
Claire Novorol: Educated physician, paediatrician and now co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Ada Well being, a Berlin-based world well being firm constructed by medical doctors to enhance human well being by reworking information into higher outcomes. It’s now counting over 13 million customers and is offered to 60 million customers in complete, and performed over 31 million assessments.
Claudia de la Riva: Serial entrepreneur, and captivated with discovering and constructing options that enhance welfare, high quality of life and the event of individuals. She is the present CEO of Apolo Children, which is an thrilling edtech startup primarily based in Barcelona. Launched in 2020, the corporate motivates kids by internet-based, autonomous and on-the-go studying.
Cristina Bentue: Co-founder and COO of IriusRisk, taking a small startup to a 150-strong crew throughout three continents. She can be behind completely different initiatives and programmes to encourage extra women in STEM. An more and more highly effective voice within the cybersecurity house as each an entrepreneur and tech chief, in addition to a mentor.
Cristina Fonseca: Common Accomplice at Indico Capital Companions, she leverages her expertise as Co-founder of Talkdesk, one in all Portugal’s main tech unicorns, to assist high-potential startups in AI, SaaS and DeepTech. She is an lively advocate for entrepreneurship and innovation throughout Europe’s startup ecosystem.
Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill: Olympian changed into an entrepreneur. In 2019, she based Jennis, a femtech startup aiming to enhance information round girls’s well being and coaching, drawing on her personal experiences with the ability of hormones and simply how little girls perceive about their cycles.
Danila De Stefano: Founder and CEO of Unobravo, an organization constructing an empathetic, clinically backed and accessible end-to-end platform for psychological well being. Based in 2019, it operates in Italy, Spain and France, with +7M periods accomplished, +9K psychologists and psychotherapists collaborating on the platform, and over 435K sufferers supported.
Deepali Nangia: A part of the UK Authorities Taskforce for feminine entrepreneurs, engaged on related modifications to make it simpler for feminine founders to get funding. She’s a accomplice at Speedinvest, with a give attention to investing in underrepresented and underfunded founders. She additionally co-founded Alma Angels.
Diliara Lupenko: Co-founder and COO of Impress, a Barcelona-based healthtech firm constructing one in all Europe’s main networks of orthodontic clinics. Since founding the corporate in 2019, she has helped scale the enterprise throughout a number of markets, combining medical experience with digital expertise to remodel the orthodontics sector.
Ekaterina Almasque: Founding Accomplice at BlankPage Capital, she backs deep tech and AI-driven B2B corporations. A growth-stage investor and board member at corporations together with IQM Quantum Computer systems, she focuses on scaling breakthrough applied sciences in areas reminiscent of quantum, semiconductors, and next-generation AI infrastructure.
Ekaterina Zaharieva: EU Commissioner for Startups, Analysis and Innovation on the European Fee, she leads the EU’s agenda to strengthen Europe’s startup and scaleup ecosystem, advance analysis excellence, and drive innovation-led competitiveness. Based mostly in Brussels, she works on reinforcing Europe’s place within the world panorama.
Elisa Tarzia: Co-Founder and Vice President of 351 Portuguese Startup Affiliation, she is a startup ecosystem builder targeted on scaling communities, shaping coverage, and strengthening founder assist in Portugal and throughout Europe. She additionally leads progress at BRIDGE IN and is constructing the Portuguese chapter of Founder Institute.
Erika de Santi: Co-founder & Chief of Expertise of WeRoad, a Milan-based startup specialising in group journey journey for millennials. It’s offering a service tailor-made to a era that’s usually discovering themselves travelling solo – however in search of hyper-connected, personalised and enjoyable experiences. It’s one in all Europe’s fastest-growing journey operators.
Eva De Mol: Co-founder and Managing Accomplice at CapitalT, she is an early-stage enterprise capital investor backing European software program startups in local weather, schooling and the way forward for work. She has spent over a decade researching entrepreneurial crew dynamics and startup efficiency, and is a vocal advocate for extra inclusive entry to enterprise capital.
Eva-Valerie Gfrerer: Based in 2020, Morphais is a agency primarily based in Berlin that invests in distinctive founders, impartial of their background. Morphais was launched by Eva to place the give attention to the founder to construct world-class corporations. A behavioural scientist and entrepreneur at coronary heart, fascinated by predicting human behaviour with knowledge.
Fariha Shah: CEO and founding father of Cominty.ai, she is constructing agentic AI instruments for work and advocates for accountable, inclusive innovation. A serial tech entrepreneur with two ventures and one exit, she additionally serves as a board member at UN Girls France and holds a management function at CPME Nationale, championing girls’s entrepreneurship in France.
Dr Fiona Pathiraja: Accomplice at Crista Galli Ventures, a fund that invests in Seed and Collection A phases in European well being tech, has labored within the NHS for over 15 years. She has firsthand seen the necessity for innovation and tech-driven options to deal with mounting healthcare challenges. She is dedicated to selling healthcare innovation.
Francesca James: Founding father of Concepts Fest, usually dubbed the “Glastonbury for Enterprise”, she constructed one of many UK’s fastest-growing entrepreneurship communities, connecting and championing over 100,000 founders. By Concepts, she additionally powers main nationwide programmes such because the Nice British Entrepreneur Awards and the UK StartUp Awards.
Gesa Miczaika: Common Accomplice at Auxxo Feminine Catalyst Fund, she invests in pre-seed and seed-stage startups throughout Europe with a give attention to female-founded groups. She can be a founding member of European Girls in VC and works to extend the participation of girls as each founders and buyers, supporting extra numerous enterprise ecosystems.
Gina Domanig: As CEO and Managing Accomplice of Emerald, a number one VC agency targeted on CleanTech, she has been instrumental in funding breakthrough options in power, mobility, and the round financial system. Gina’s management has helped numerous startups scale whereas selling gender inclusivity in funding.
Grace Beverley: CEO and Founding father of TALA and SHREDDY, and a famend podcast host. At 23, she topped Forbes’ 30 underneath 30 in retail and e-commerce, ranked twenty sixth amongst influential on-line creators by The Sunday Occasions, and was featured in Glamour with Emma Watson and Rihanna as one in all ‘the ten superb multi-hyphenates to be impressed by’
Hélène Falchier: Accomplice at Portage Ventures, Hélène is an early-stage investor devoted to backing the subsequent era of revolutionary, impact-driven corporations, significantly within the monetary sector. Hélène has been influencing the fintech house throughout her distinguished profession, serving to empower extra feminine illustration on this house.
Hélène Huby: Founding father of The Exploration Firm, one in all Europe’s fastest-growing house tech corporations, and former Head of Innovation at Airbus Defence and House. Based in 2021, her startup has already secured €47.3 million, aiming to form sustainable, scalable, and inexpensive house journeys made in Europe.
Inka Mero: Inka is the founder and managing accomplice at Voima Ventures, a Finnish deep tech fund that’s on a mission to resolve the large world challenges humankind is dealing with by science, entrepreneurship and capital. Inka is captivated with purpose-driven startups and the way they’re utilizing digital tech to form a greater future.
Itxaso del Palacio: Common Accomplice at Notion, a prime European B2B SaaS VC, beforehand served as an Funding Accomplice for M12 in Europe. Her notable investments embrace Yulife (life insurance coverage), Orus (SMB insurance coverage), Sure.co (foreign money threat administration), Onfido (identification verification) and Beamery (recruitment CRM).
Jacqueline Ruedin Rüsch: Founder and CEO of Privilège Administration SA, a wealth administration agency, additionally initiated Privilège Ventures SA to again entrepreneurs. She then began the Privilège Scholar Ventures Initiative, a tutorial yr program educating college students to develop into enterprise capital buyers or entrepreneurs.
Jacqueline van den Ende: Entrepreneur and investor. She based Carbon Fairness in 2021, a fintech platform that just lately raised over €100 million, searching for to energy the world’s most impactful local weather expertise options with retail capital. Beforehand, she was a accomplice at Peak Capital and an investor at HAL Investments.
Jane Reddin: Accomplice, Platform and Expertise director at AlbionVC. Based mostly in London, AlbionVC helps to construct the way forward for enterprise and healthcare. Jane helps put money into the perfect founders by assessing their management potential and advises the management groups to assist and speed up the speedy organisational scaling of corporations.
Janneke Niessen: Founding Accomplice at CapitalT, serial entrepreneur, angel investor, board member and variety advocate. Her experience lies on the crossroads of expertise, expertise, investing and variety. She is a distinguished board member for a number of organisations and is usually referred to as upon by the federal government for recommendation.
Jenny Saft: Co-founder of Apryl (acquired by Progyny), an worker fertility advantages platform that allows corporations to assist workers on their path to parenthood. Jenny additionally operates as an investor with Nucleus Capital and Atomico, seeking to assist impact-driven ventures. Earlier to this, she labored with the likes of Adyen and Fyber.
Jessica Holzbach: Accomplice and CEO Germany at 0TO9 | Financial institution of Entrepreneurship, she is a fintech founder turned investor targeted on constructing the subsequent era of regulated monetary providers in Europe. She co-founded Penta (acquired by Qonto) and based Pile (acquired), and now backs fintech, AI, and deep tech as an angel.
Joana Pinto: CGO at Lampsy Well being and Co-founder and CEO of Clynx, she helps healthtech groups scale by progress technique, partnerships, and go-to-market execution. Based mostly in Portugal, she can be lively as a fractional progress chief, mentor, and advisor, with a robust give attention to sensible AI purposes in healthcare.
Joanna Torngren Redebran: Founding father of Nyfikna Investerare, a Nordic boutique media home reaching 15,000+ buyers and entrepreneurs, she works on the intersection of capital and storytelling. She additionally produces Their Legacy, a cinematic platform exploring possession, management, and next-generation entrepreneurship throughout Europe.
Julia Bijaoui: French entrepreneur and Co-founder of Frichti, a meals supply and grocery startup that reimagined how city shoppers entry contemporary meals. She is now Co-founder of Local weather Home and Selar, specializing in sustainable innovation and new fashions of journey and climate-conscious dwelling.
Julia Hawkins: Common Accomplice at LocalGlobe & Latitude. She takes a selected curiosity in well being, artistic industries, mobility and fintech. She has backed corporations reminiscent of Yulife, Vira and Fertility. At present working with LocalGlobe and Latitude, she seeks to depart a optimistic impression and finds healthcare to be her primary precedence.
Karoli Hindriks: Founder at Jobbatical. In 2020, she was named by the EU Council as one of many 8 most inspiring girls in Europe. She based her first firm at 16, formally changing into the youngest inventor in her native Estonia. She additionally led the launch of seven tv channels in Northern Europe, together with Nationwide Geographic Channels and MTV.
Katharina Unger: Founder and CEO of LIVIN farms, she develops industrial applied sciences to scale insect-based various proteins for the meals and feed industries. Recognised as a European Younger Chief and MIT Innovator Below 35, she is on a mission to remodel the worldwide meals system by round and sustainable options.
Kinga Stanislawska: Senior advisor on European funding and governance, she is the founding father of European Girls in VC and co-founder of the Bootstrap 4F initiative. A former member of the EIC Board and EIC Fund Funding Committee, she works on the intersection of institutional capital, enterprise ecosystems, and public–non-public partnerships.
Laura Modiano: Works with startups throughout EMEA at OpenAI, supporting founders constructing with superior AI applied sciences. Based mostly in London, she engages carefully with the developer and startup ecosystem whereas additionally investing as an angel in early-stage corporations. Beforehand, she labored with startups and enterprise capital corporations at Amazon Net Providers.
Laura Urquizu: CEO and President of Pink Factors. In 2020, Laura was named one of many 100 Leaders Remodeling Enterprise by Enterprise Insider and among the many most artistic folks by FORBES. Beforehand, Laura Urquizu held government and administration positions at Arthur Andersen, Caja Navarra & CAN Company.
Lena Hackelöer: Founder & CEO at Brite Funds, a fast-growing second-generation challenger within the European cost house. Permitting shoppers to make funds utilizing their checking account, Brite employs state-of-the-art open banking expertise to course of prompt funds and payouts throughout Europe throughout a variety of verticals.
Lina Chong: Accomplice at HV Capital, she focuses on investing in early-stage expertise startups throughout Europe, significantly in AI and rising software program. Earlier than changing into a enterprise capitalist, she based and exited corporations herself, bringing a hands-on founder perspective to supporting formidable entrepreneurs.
Linnéa Kornehed Falck: Co-founder and board member at Einride, she has helped drive the shift to digital, electrical, and autonomous freight. She additionally co-founded Navisalma, a design studio and enterprise accomplice spun out of Einride’s design crew, and has been recognised by Forbes 30 Below 30 for her management in mobility and sustainability.
Louise Herping Ellegaard: Angel investor, board skilled and founding father of Clio On-line, one of many early EdTech corporations in Denmark and Sweden. Based mostly in Copenhagen, she has been investing in Danish startups and scale-ups since 2014 and is understood for her function as an investor on Denmark’s Løvens Hule, the native model of Dragon’s Den.
Lisa Carter: Founder and CEO of Panelle, she builds community-driven platforms that join manufacturers with senior girls decision-makers by curated experiences and her Viewers Engineering™ methodology. An award-winning entrepreneur and founding father of NIKAO, she champions visibility, management and generational wealth for girls in enterprise.
Lubomila Jordanova: Founder and CEO of Plan A (acquired), a carbon accounting and decarbonisation platform, and Co-founder of the Greentech Alliance, she is a distinguished voice in Europe’s local weather tech ecosystem. She additionally serves as Group CEO of Diginex, working to speed up sustainable transformation and ESG adoption throughout world industries.
Luciana Lixandru: Accomplice at Sequoia Capital, Luciana companions with impactful European founders who’re pioneering impactful change. She has invested in Collection A at UiPath, Collection A at Miro, Collection B at Deliveroo, seed stage at Hopin, seed stage at Tessian and extra. Luciana has additionally been a Board Member for corporations reminiscent of Miro, Tessian and UiPath.
Lucile Cornet: Accomplice at Eight Roads, Lucile is an impactful investor backing promising corporations, significantly within the health and SaaS sectors. She has an intensive profession within the funding house and is at present backing corporations like Reveal, Amenitiz, Spendesk, Interplay and Fuse Common.
Lupina Iturriaga: Co-founder of SeniorExpert and Fintonic, she is a board member, investor and former CEO with greater than 20 years’ expertise throughout banking, advertising and marketing, expertise and product. Recognised by Forbes and the Monetary Occasions as one of the vital influential girls, she focuses on monetary well-being and revolutionary options for the senior financial system.
Manon Sarah Littek: Founding Common Accomplice on the Inexperienced Era Fund. Manon is captivated with rising impactful ventures within the meals tech and inexperienced tech areas. She has been an lively investor in shaping the meals revolution throughout Europe and at present works with Upfield, Change Meals, Lypid and The Rainforest Firm.
Marcia Kilgore: Founding father of Magnificence Pie, a startup revolutionising the wonder trade. Since its inception in 2016, Magnificence Pie has targeted on delivering high-quality magnificence merchandise, fostering self-worth, and educating girls to say their deserved success. Having secured over €92 million million, Marcia has develop into a pivotal determine within the entrepreneurial world.
Margo Polishchuk: Margo is the co-founder and President of proSapient, a major analysis and skilled networking service for institutional buyers, consultants, and company shoppers all over the world. The agency goals to ship actionable intelligence and related consultants to shoppers, giving them an edge to achieve their industrial ambitions.
Marie-Helene Ametsreiter: A distinguished determine in enterprise and enterprise capital, at present a Common Accomplice at Speedinvest, main the Industrial tech crew. She advocates for range within the EU startup and VC sectors, supporting revolutionary corporations like Greyparrot, Fernride, and CELUS.
Marta Krupinska: CEO and Co-founder of CUR8, an organization constructing the infrastructure for the carbon elimination market and serving to scale options wanted to achieve web zero. Beforehand Head of Google for Startups UK, she additionally co-founded fintech corporations Azimo and FreeUp.She serves as Chair of Youth Enterprise Worldwide and helps local weather innovation.
Melanie Gabriel: Co-Director and COO on the ETH AI Centre, she is a co-founder of Yokoy (acquired by Perk) and Observe the Gradient, a weekly podcast and publication on constructing from Europe. She additionally lectures at ETH Zurich and the College of St. Gallen, serves on boards together with SICTIC and Moodtalk, and invests as an angel.
Mette Lykke: The visionary founding father of TooGoodToGo, a number one sustainability app that fights in opposition to meals waste by partnering with supermarkets, eating places, bakeries, and inns to redistribute surplus meals. Main a crew of over 400 Waste Warriors, Mette’s impactful work follows her success.
Miriam Wohlfarth: A serial entrepreneur, she established one in all Germany’s pioneering fintech corporations, Ratepay, a cost service supplier. In 2020, she launched her newest enterprise, Banxware, which is reworking the European lending trade by enabling platforms to offer banking merchandise.
Montse-Suarez: Founding father of IRIS Ventures, Montse is an skilled trade skilled with a distinguished profession within the VC, non-public fairness and funding banking industries on a world stage. She beforehand based Vaultier7, a consumer-focused non-public fairness agency that’s backed success tales like French vogue unicorn Vestiaire Collective.
Namrata Sandhu: Co-founder and CEO of Vaayu, a startup that’s serving to retailers observe and minimize their carbon emissions. She has over 17 years of worldwide expertise constructing, creating and implementing sustainability methods throughout corporations – specializing in local weather change, carbon emissions, human rights, ESG reporting and moral provide chains.
Nicola McClafferty: Accomplice at Molten Ventures and a board member for a number of startups, can be the founding father of Covetique, a curated on-line market for pre-owned luxurious vogue. Her prior roles embrace serving as an investor at Ravensbeck and Balderton Capital, the place she targeted on cross-platform media and e-commerce.
Nicole Büttner: Founder and CEO of Merantix Momentum and Founding Accomplice at Merantix Capital, she focuses on advancing AI innovation and supporting deep tech startups throughout Europe. She can be a World Financial Discussion board Digital Chief for Europe and an lively advocate for strengthening the continent’s AI ecosystem.
Nora Bavey:Common Accomplice at Unconventional Ventures, an Affect fund targeted on early-stage impression tech corporations constructed by numerous founders in Europe. She can be the co-founder of the UV Accelerator, an 8-week digital program aimed toward supporting tech startups by underrepresented founders within the Nordics, specializing in sustainable enterprise progress.
Nikita Thakrar: Co-Founder & CEO of Included VC, pioneers the primary world, totally funded Fellowship concentrating on numerous and sometimes marginalised communities, aiming to democratise entry to the enterprise capital trade by schooling and alternatives. In three years, almost single-handedly, Nikita established a globally recognised model.
Rachel Delacour:A distinguished determine in European tech, based Sweep in 2020 to fight local weather change. Sweep, a B2B software program, helps corporations handle and cut back their carbon footprint. Beforehand, she co-founded BIME Analytics, acquired by Zendesk, and serves as a enterprise angel and board member for varied US and French startups.
Rafaela Andrade: Accomplice at Mundi Ventures, the place she focuses on progress investments and fundraising from institutional LPs, supporting fintech and insurtech corporations throughout Europe, the US, and Latin America. She combines funding experience with board-level expertise, together with serving as a Non-Government Director at Pharol SGPS.
Raja Skogland: An angel investor in over 70 startups, has suggested hundreds of founders since 2015. In 2020, she based The Visionary Firm, offering founders with sources to spice up their fundraising and scaling efforts. Beforehand, she was CEO at TheFactory, a number one accelerator in Norway, and launched thehub.io in 2016.
Rebecka Löthman Rydå: Common Accomplice at Norrsken Evolve, a pre-seed enterprise fund supporting founders constructing resilient and sustainable corporations throughout Europe. Earlier than enterprise capital, she held operational management roles, together with CFO and CEO, bringing an operator’s perspective to supporting formidable founders.
Roberta Lucca: Roberta is the Co-founder and Board Director of Bossa Studios, an angel investor and keynote speaker on the way forward for video games, entrepreneurship and management. BOSSA is a BAFTA-winning impartial video games developer and writer primarily based in London. Pushed by creativity, it takes a group strategy to content material and sport growth.
Roxanne Varza:Director of Station F, a worldwide startup campus primarily based in Paris. She’s additionally a scout for Sequoia Capital and a board member of NRJ Groupe and Le Fonds pour l’Indépendance de la Presse. Amongst her earlier roles, Roxanne led Microsoft’s startup actions in France and co-founded Tech.eu.
Sana Afouaiz: An award-winning gender skilled, advocate for girls, public speaker, the particular person behind Womenpreneur, and writer of “Invisible Girls of the Center East”. Sana has suggested entities just like the United Nations and the European Fee on gender points and co-founded Womenquake, a motion difficult and re-examining gender notions.
Sara Resvik: Sara is an skilled early-stage investor and chief with expertise from BackingMinds, Industrifonden, Schibsted and Axel Johnson. Based in 2016, BackingMinds was constructed on the thesis that the subsequent unicorn will come from seeking to the neglected elements of Europe’s startup ecosystem. Sara is at present a accomplice at Endeit Capital.
Sarah Barber: Managing Accomplice at Jenson Ventures, she helped launch the primary Jenson SEIS Fund in 2012 and has since led fundraising, deployment and portfolio administration. A Chartered Accountant who certified with Deloitte, she combines enterprise capital management with deep experience in finance, turnaround and enterprise operations.
Selma Prodanovic: Social futurist, world keynote speaker and personal board-level advisor, she has spent over 30 years shaping Europe’s startup and angel investing ecosystems. She is the creator of “The Selma Impact” and works with leaders and policymakers on the intersection of energy, management and societal impression.
Shrestha Chowdhury: Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at GeneralMind, she is constructing AI programs that automate complicated enterprise operations. Beforehand Co-Founder and CTO of Razor Group, she led expertise and knowledge science at scale throughout world e-commerce operations, and holds a Laptop Science diploma from Stanford College.
Simone Brummelhuis: Founding Accomplice and Fund Director on the Borski Fund, a VC fund investing in expertise leaders and variety. Simone is a supervisory board member of Royal Schiphol Group, Rabo Amsterdam and Media Huis Nederland. She beforehand based The Subsequent Girls, which gives entry to capital, packages, sources, and networks for girls.
Sophie Hersan: Co-founder and Vogue Director of Vestiaire Collective, the main world on-line market for preloved vogue. It counts over 23 million consumers and sellers and has a world attain with workplaces in Paris, London, Berlin, NY, Hong Kong and past. Sophie based the agency in 2009 and is captivated with making a extra sustainable future.
Susanne Najafi: Entrepreneur and Founding Accomplice of BackingMinds VC, she focuses on investing in neglected founders and underinvested markets. A serial entrepreneur with a number of profitable exits, she is understood for difficult conventional enterprise capital fashions and increasing entry to funding throughout Europe’s startup ecosystem.
Talia Rafaeli: Common Accomplice at KOMPAS, an early-stage enterprise capital agency that focuses on investing in startups that can lead the digital transformation and sustainability revolutions in main trade verticals. She backs formidable founders who develop expertise to remodel buildings into extra sustainable and wholesome areas.
Tessa Clarke: Co-founder and CEO of Olio, the community-powered platform serving to redistribute surplus meals and home goods to scale back waste. Based mostly within the UK, she is a TED speaker, Sifted columnist and sustainability advocate targeted on round financial system options and mission-led companies tackling meals waste at scale.
Vera Elizabeth Baker: Accomplice at 4P Capital, she leads early-stage investments throughout sustainability transformation sectors. Energetic angel investor with 30+ investments throughout Europe and North America, she additionally mentors at Techstars Sustainability Paris and based For Coloured Women Who Tech, supporting Black and Brown girls in entrepreneurship.
Vidya Peters: CEO of DataSnipper, the Amsterdam-based unicorn reworking audit and finance workflows by AI-driven automation. With expertise throughout world expertise and SaaS corporations, she focuses on scaling high-growth groups and constructing merchandise that assist organisations enhance accuracy, transparency, and effectivity.
Vivienne Hsu: With over 20 years of strategic communications experience in B2B and B2C organisations, she is the co-founder and CEO of Anasbasis Companions and a Founding Member of Chief. Hsu additionally mentors within the fintech sector, specializing in advancing girls to management positions and enhancing their expertise and affect.
Yonca Braeckman: Founder and CEO of Affect Shakers, fosters societal and environmental options by inclusive entrepreneurship. Dedicated to mission-driven initiatives and supporting underrepresented founders, she contributes to diversifying the Belgian and European tech ecosystems and mentors startups and entrepreneurs.
Yvonne Bajela: Accomplice at LocalGlobe, and former founding Member and Principal at Affect X Capital, a UK-based enterprise capital fund based to put money into corporations led by underrepresented entrepreneurs throughout Europe. Recognised by ‘Forbes 30 Below 30′ in 2020, she has invested over €230 million in startups across the globe.
Congratulations to all of the superb girls trailblazing and breaking obstacles throughout Europe. We’ll see you all once more subsequent yr with the 2027 version! To hold your finger on the heartbeat of Europe’s entrepreneurial tales, tech occasions and funding alternatives, be certain that to enroll to the EU-Startups CLUB!
Additionally, as a small symbolic gesture, since girls are nonetheless strongly underrepresented within the startup and VC world, we determined to present away 10 tickets for this yr’s EU-Startups Summit particularly to some nice girls in tech!
In the event you’re a lady who want to be part of us on Could 7-8 in Malta and also you haven’t secured your occasion ticket but, you can apply here (takes lower than 1 minute) till March 10 at 10 AM (CET). Good luck!
Cristina Bentue: Co-founder and COO of IriusRisk, taking a small startup to a 150-strong crew throughout three continents. She can be behind completely different initiatives and programmes to encourage extra women in STEM. An more and more highly effective voice within the cybersecurity house as each an entrepreneur and tech chief, in addition to a mentor.
Itxaso del Palacio: Common Accomplice at Notion, a prime European B2B SaaS VC, beforehand served as an Funding Accomplice for M12 in Europe. Her notable investments embrace Yulife (life insurance coverage), Orus (SMB insurance coverage), Sure.co (foreign money threat administration), Onfido (identification verification) and Beamery (recruitment CRM).
Roxanne Varza: Director of Station F, a worldwide startup campus primarily based in Paris. She’s additionally a scout for Sequoia Capital and a board member of NRJ Groupe and Le Fonds pour l’Indépendance de la Presse. Amongst her earlier roles, Roxanne led Microsoft’s startup actions in France and co-founded Tech.eu.
Sana Afouaiz: An award-winning gender skilled, advocate for girls, public speaker, the particular person behind Womenpreneur, and writer of “Invisible Girls of the Center East”. Sana has suggested entities just like the United Nations and the European Fee on gender points and co-founded Womenquake, a motion difficult and re-examining gender notions.
Vera Elizabeth Baker: Accomplice at 4P Capital, she leads early-stage investments throughout sustainability transformation sectors. Energetic angel investor with 30+ investments throughout Europe and North America, she additionally mentors at Techstars Sustainability Paris and based For Coloured Women Who Tech, supporting Black and Brown girls in entrepreneurship.
Vivienne Hsu: With over 20 years of strategic communications experience in B2B and B2C organisations, she is the co-founder and CEO of Anasbasis Companions and a Founding Member of Chief. Hsu additionally mentors within the fintech sector, specializing in advancing girls to management positions and enhancing their expertise and affect.
