The Aurora Tech Award, an annual award celebrating the most innovative and trailblazing female founders in underserved communities, has announced its top 120 founders for 2025. This year, the award saw a record-breaking 2,018 applications from 116 countries, doubling last year’s submissions. The countries leading the longlist are Nigeria, Brazil, and the United States, followed closely by Egypt. Other notable contributors include Colombia, Kenya, the United Kingdom, India, and Kazakhstan, showcasing a truly global and diverse representation of entrepreneurial talent.
“The Aurora Top 120 is a first for us this year, created from a three-month open call that attracted over 2,000 applications from female founders. Through a rigorous selection process, we’ve identified 120 standout women entrepreneurs who are building bold and innovative businesses in underserved communities. These founders are poised to shape the future of their industries and countries, making them the ones to watch in 2025”, said Head of the Aurora Tech Award Isabella Ghassemi-Smith.
The initiative also garnered increased support from venture capital firms, with the number of VC partners rising from 23 to 35. Notably, this year’s list includes new partners from Egypt, Brazil, and Pakistan, underscoring the growing global recognition of the award and its mission.
Regional Highlights
- The United States submitted 15 applications, with 7 in the healthtech sector and others spanning ecotech, edtech, and foodtech.
- The United Kingdom contributed 4 submissions across industries such as travel-tech, HR-tech, and healthtech.
- Colombia showcased innovation in renewable energy, edtech, ecotech, and healthtech.
Healthtech emerged as the most popular sector among applicants, highlighting a global drive for innovation in healthcare, with 30 submissions falling under this category. Agritech and edtech also remained highly relevant, while the e-commerce sector showcased a shift toward more dynamic marketplace models. The majority of this year’s agrotech startups hail from Africa, underscoring the region’s growing focus on agricultural innovation. The renewable energy sector was also represented, with standout entries from Colombia and Iraq. HR tech emerged as another focal area, with most startups originating from Brazil, followed by Singapore and a notable contribution from the UK.
The Aurora Tech Award celebrates the most innovative and trailblazing women founders in underserved communities, offering more than just recognition. It provides them with access to expertise, resources, and transformative opportunities to scale their businesses and shape the future of their industries. Award applicants gain access to mentorship opportunities, guidance on fundraising and pitching, alongside global recognition. They also are provided with opportunities to connect with investors and VC funds, as well as access to PR support, opening doors to valuable networks and resources to drive their success.
The award’s shortlist, which will reveal the top 20 founders from this year’s list, is set to be announced in February 2025, with winners celebrated at a global ceremony later in the year.
More information on this year’s top 120 list is available here.
Industry trends empowering women-led startups
The growing participation of women in entrepreneurship marks a significant global trend. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), women’s startup activity rates rose from an average of 6.1% (2001-2005) to 10.4% (2021-2023) across 30 countries.
Emerging markets demonstrate even stronger momentum. Research by WE-FI reveals that 17% of working-age women in developing economies are already entrepreneurs, with 35% aspiring to join them. In contrast, high-income countries report just 9% engagement and 14% aspiration rates. Africa stands out in particular, with nations like Angola and Togo reporting higher rates of female entrepreneurship than male participation.
This shift has attracted global VC interest in emerging markets. In 2023, emerging economies received 17% of global VC investment, underscoring their resilience. For example, Africa’s VC funding skyrocketed to $6.5 billion in 2022 (AVCA), a significant leap from $1.3 billion in 2020. Firms such as Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital continue to invest in startups across India, Latin America, and beyond, driving substantial growth.
Startups founded or co-founded by women also outperform their male-led counterparts in revenue efficiency. Research by BCG shows that women-led startups generate 78 cents of revenue per dollar of funding, compared to just 31 cents for male-led ventures. Over a five-year period, they also achieve 10% higher cumulative revenue—$730,000 versus $662,000 (MassChallenge 2019).
On a local scale, women-owned businesses fuel economic development and inspire future generations. Reports from ProMujer highlight the critical role women entrepreneurs play in strengthening communities and breaking barriers, reinforcing their long-term societal impact.
About the project
The Aurora Tech Award is a non-profit initiative of inDrive, a global mobility and urban services platform, aimed at recognizing 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 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.
inDrive operates in over 700 cities in 46 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.
