Aurora Tech Award 2023 Shortlist recognizes women founders challenging gender inequality in IT

Winners will be announced on International Women’s Day

Marie-Reine Seshie, Co-founder and CEO of Kola Market, a Ghana-based machine learning technology start-up, has been shortlisted amongst 22 global female contestants for the Aurora Tech Awards 2023. This is an incredible achievement and an honor for Marie-Reine Seshie, to be selected from 395 applicants and to represent Ghana on a global level.

Founded in 2021 by inDrive, a US-headquartered mobility and urban services global platform, the Award supports women entrepreneurs who are using technology to develop their communities, with the overarching goal of challenging gender inequality in IT.

There are three cash prizes awarded to the winners: $30,000, $20,000 and $10,000 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, respectively.

The winners of the 2023 Award will be announced at an online ceremony event on March 8th, 2023 at auroratechaward.com.

Aurora Tech Award 2023 shortlist

1 - Marie-Reine Seshie from Ghana and her startup Kola Market Inc., a product that drives sustained growth for Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially women owned SMEs in Ghana and beyond.

2 - Elizabeth Mnwangi from Kenya and her startup Gwiji for Women, connecting cleaners living in the slums of Nairobi with their clients.

3 - Folake Owodunni from Nigeria and her startup Emergency Response Africa, network of First Responders, emergency vehicles, and hospitals, and connecting people in urgent need to help using technology.

4 - Marisa Paramita from Indonesia and her startup Ibu Punya Mimpi, a web platform with online education and job opportunities for mothers in Indonesia and beyond.

5 - Carol Kakooza from Uganda with aXiom Zorn Foundation, connecting farmers with business and financial services in Uganda.

6 - Karina Ojaguren Carreira from Argentina and startup Humana Digital Health, virtual family doctor.

7 - Aira Mongush from Tyva (Russia) and her startup Mathshub, an edtech project with free fundamental programming and data analysis skills for everyone, as well as personalized career programs.

8 - Lauren Yen from USA and Fronted Records, customizable health applications to empower underserved clinics.

9 - Princess Oti from Nigeria and her startup Kaoshi Network, a marketplace to connect Africans at home and abroad to enable them to meet their financial obligations.

10 - Adila Shaukat from Pakistan and her startup Shemote, a project supporting women working from home with training and consultancy.

11 -Hira Saeed and Faiza Yousuf from Pakistan and their startup CaterpillHERs, an edtech training project and job marketplace.

12 - Cynthia Asije from Nigeria and her startup Craftmerce Inc, a marketplace that connects small and medium-sized producers and artisans from Africa with retailers and business owners from Europe and North America.

13 - Sona Majeethia from India and the Kadamb Inclusive Learning Tools, a web platform that provides comprehensive guides with a focus on enabling students with learning disabilities to study independently.

14 - Iva Gumnishka from Bulgaria and Humans in the Loop, data annotation services for computer vision.

15 - Loide Dawid from Namibia and her project K-12EdTech.Inc, an app that enables education in the metaverse.

16 -Idedayo Durosinm-Etti from Nigeria and her startup Herconomy Limited,  a community empowering women to be financially independent.

17 - Monsurah Alli-Oluwafuyi from Nigeria and HERRYDE, a ride-hailing service, where women drive women.

18 -Anna Ngwenyi Mafor from Cameroon and her app GreenAgain, increasing farmers’ crop productivity by diagnosing diseases in plants that are difficult to diagnose physically or manually.

19 -Olapeju Umah from Nigeria and her startup MyFoodAngels, a marketplace connecting farmers and consumers.

20 - Ifeoma Nwobu from Nigeria and her startup Sendstack,  digital logistics infrastructure for businesses in Africa.

21- Anggaris Anggiea (Gea) Cininta P. from Indonesia and her project GenEd, an education-based solution that empowers educators.

22 -Namya Mahajan from India and her Rocket Learning, digital teacher-parent communities.

This year’s jury is comprised of past Award winners and prominent female leaders from around the world:

Adora Nwodo, Founder, AdoraHack

Ruchika Singhal, President of Medtronic LABS

Adrienne Doolan, CEO of Green Touches

Mayra Castro, Founder of InvestAmazonia

Sahra-Josephine Hjorth, Co-founder and CEO CanopyLAB

Ahu Serter, Founder of Arya Women’s Investment Platform

Sardana Mikheeva. VP of Operations at inDrive

Ainura Sagyn, Co-founder and CEO of Tazar

Sadaffe Abid, Social entrepreneur leading CIRCLE

Ekaterina Smirnova, Executive Director of the Aurora Tech Award, said: “This year’s shortlisted applicants are a veritable showcase of leadership and innovative thinking in using advanced technologies to develop communities and challenge inequality in IT. Our partners in the VC space carefully reviewed each of the submitted applications. Every year, the Aurora Tech Award attracts an increasing number of women IT leaders, many of whom overcome significant challenges in their drive to improve the quality of life in their communities. The inDrive team are passionate advocates for gender equality in IT, and this year’s Award not only recognizes the efforts of these remarkable founders, but supports the winners with cash prizes to help them reach their goals.”