Important dates

Our 2025 Award will launch in September 2025 – please check back then to apply

What's in it for you

Rewards

A prize will be awarded to the winner and a 'Rising star 2025' will be recognised. All finalists will be given the opportunity to join 'Project Female Founder 2026', a year-long, global investor readiness, networking and mentorship program, that arms early-stage female founders with fundamentals to support their access to aligned capital. With partners Fortuna, Coralus, and Live True, the program consists of an investor readiness and pitch program, followed by access to the Coralus network to help build an ecosystem of support. Finalists will receive mentoring from ۶Ƶ advisers, access to experienced entrepreneurs, venture capital firms and others in a global community, allowing you to build your regional and international contacts.

Cash prize

The winner will receive USD 10,000 to support their founder journey. A special award will also go to the 'Rising Star of 2025'.

Mentoring

Receive mentorship from a ۶Ƶ senior leader and access to female-focused VCs and investors. Companies above USD 50 million can connect with Growth Entrepreneur Network.

Project Female Founder

Join Project Female Founder, a year-long program for investor readiness and networking. Access to global Coralus network of female entrepreneurs to connect and share your best practices.

Global profile

Access speaker and publicity opportunities to gain recognition. Build your global profile through this prestigious award, either as a winner or finalist.

Jury

The following individuals will lead the selection process and decide on the winner of Female Founder Award 2025 based on the following categories: diversity, financial track record, growth potential and leadership. 

Alice Page - ۶Ƶ

Chief of Staff to the President Global Wealth Management

Marianna Mamou – ۶Ƶ

CIO Office – Head Advice Beyond Investing

Bogdan Gogu – ۶Ƶ

Principal Investments

Martin Grinberg

CEO, Digital Smart Group & Vanguard Software Factory 

Location: Spain

Martin is an Entrepreneur, Advisor, and Investor with a strong track record of founding and scaling companies. He specializes in internationalization and business expansion, and is passionate about connecting people, fostering collaboration, and supporting entrepreneurs in the tech space.

Jonathan Paul

CEO & Co-founder Adatos

Jonathan is the co-founder of Adatos, a remote sensing company that uses AI to analyze satellite data for carbon projects and agriculture. He is a former banker, he has invested in over 10 startups and founded a hedge fund focused on climate-related investments.

Chaitanya Hiremath

CEO, Healthpoint Ventures

Location: USA

Chaitanya Hiremath is a seasoned entrepreneur with a strong focus on innovation and technology. He has led successful ventures across various industries, earning recognition from Forbes 30 Under 30 and Entrepreneur Magazine's Top 25 People in Tech for his contributions to AI-driven solutions and business leadership

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Founding Partner and Co-CEO of iAngels, and General Partner of iAngels Ventures

An Israeli high-tech insider, Mor co-leads iAngels, a firm she co-founded and scaled from an investment platform to an investment house. As a GP, Mor is a voting member of the investment committee, leads deal sourcing and due-diligence, while managing the firm’s multi-strat portfolio.

Mor’s tech and corporate strategy background with SAP, IBM and Amdocs, coupled with her experience in the IDF’s elite intelligence unit, 8200, has proven invaluable in assessing new technologies and foreseeing the evolution of frontier technologies. As a member of numerous boards of directors in the iAngels portfolio, both public and private companies, Mor is uniquely qualified to provide value to portfolio companies through her ability to deep dive with entrepreneurs into business strategy and R&D roadmaps.

Mor is a recognized investment expert in the areas of Fintech, AI and Automotive. She holds an MBA from Columbia University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the Technion Israel’s Institute of Technology.

Hester Spiegel-van den Steenhoven

Founding and Managing Partner of Epic Angels

As an entrepreneur, investor and advisor, Hester knows what it takes to build and successfully scale a company. 

Hester is Founding and Managing Partner of Epic Angels, the largest all-female angel investor collective investing in women-led startups in Asia-Pacific. She is the author of Thinking Big and Small: a guide to activating your entrepreneurial mindset, in which she lays out the essential attributes of successful entrepreneurship. Through allocating time and capital, she creates access for more women to become change-makers.

Andrea Fritschi

Managing Partner & Chief Investment Officer of Tenity

Andrea Fritschi is Chief Investment Officer at Tenity, a leading global FinTech venture platform. She brings over 20 years of experience spanning institutional investing, entrepreneurship, and venture capital. Andrea began her career at Swiss Re and BlackRock, focusing on private equity and VC strategies worldwide, before founding and leading startups in health tourism and FinTech ESG. At Tenity, she drives the institutional growth of the VC platform and its global FinTech footprint.

Michal Smida

CEO, RockawayQ

Location: Czech Republic

Michal is the CEO of RockawayQ, an investment division of Rockaway Capital focused on accelerating the digital and AI transformation of manufacturing companies across Europe – and globally. Previously, Michal founded a FinTech company Twisto, a “buy now, pay later” payments solutions that served over a million customers across CEE. Acquired for $100+ million by Zip Co in 2021. He currently serves as a non-executive director at Dodo and Malcom Finance.

Picture of Amal Dokhan

Amal Dokhan

Managing Partner at 500 Global

Amal Dokhan is a seasoned professional with experience in startup investments, corporate innovation, and consulting in the MENA region. Previous to joining 500 Global, Ms. Dokhan was the Managing Director of Babson Global for Entrepreneurial Leadership. Previously, she was the Manager of Learning and Design at the Entrepreneurship Center at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology where she led the New Ventures Acceleration and Corporate Innovation programs.
Prior to that engagement she worked in the KAUST Seed Fund developing marketing and events, while also providing a range of services to startup clients. Ms. Dokhan sits on the board of several organizations such as Wayakit Company, Cranfield University UK, King Abdulaziz University. She contributes to a monthly column at Leaders Magazine on Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and has been a speaker at Davos World Economic Forum, TEDx at Kaust, the Annual Conference of the Islamic Development Bank, among others. Ms. Dokhan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education, English Language & Literature from the King AbdulAziz University, and a Masters of Strategic Marketing and Marketing Management from the University of Wollongong.

Partners

Tenity

Location: Global

Epic Angels

Location: Asia Pacific

Amam Ventures

Location: Middle East

European Women in VC

Location: Europe

Anthemis

Location: global

RockawayQ - logo

RockawayQ

Location: Europe

Rules

By participating in the competition for the Award, applicants accept and agree to abide by these Official Rules and represent and warrant that they meet all eligibility requirements. Additionally, applicants agree to accept the selection decisions of ۶Ƶ as appropriate, final, and legally binding.

Download a PDF copy of the Official Rules.

2024 winner

Winning the Female Founder Award 2024 [amplifies] our mission to combat cyber vulnerabilities, as over 50% individuals online have been impacted by cyberattacks or scams. This recognition [fuels] us to protect more businesses and individuals, fostering a safer digital world for all.

Claudette McGowan, winner of the 2024 ۶Ƶ Female Founder Award

Ana Mahony