Research suggests that the first 3-5 years are among the most crucial: those are the years where many firms either establish strong operational discipline, leadership resilience, and access to networks, or they collapse under cumulative burdens of cash flow problems, burn-out, and governance lapses.

According to the African Future Leadership, Over 60% of Nigerian startups fail within their first two years, primarily due to leadership shortcomings.  Additionally, Approximately 70% of startups globally fail by the fifth year of operation.

Let’s imagine one of those mornings that founders dread. Laptops open, spreadsheets flashing red, and a team trying to make sense of what just happened.

For Ada and her two-person crew wearing all the hats of business dev, admin, accounts, compliance, COO, CTO, CRM, the news of their investor pulling out hit like a power surge – unexpected and destabilizing.

By noon, she had already opened ten tabs on her browser, searching for grants, accelerators, and anything that could keep their dream afloat.

Then, in a startup forum thread buzzing with stories, a headline (or lifeline if you will) caught her eye: “Applications open for the Foundry for HER Bootcamp.”

At first, Ada almost scrolled past it. But as she read on, the description stopped her. This didn’t seem like another generic training. It was a focused accelerator built for women like her, founders who had bold ideas but limited access to capital, networks, or mentorship.

Programs like this often provide the bedrock on which many Nigerian and African tech entrepreneurs are able to exist while building their solutions.

Officially announced in early September 2025, the Foundry for HER Bootcamp, powered by Aurora Tech Award in partnership with The Nest Innovation Technology Park Ltd, is a three-day virtual accelerator designed exclusively for early-stage women-led tech startups in Nigeria.

Running from October 15 to 17, 2025, the program promises to deliver practical tools, expert mentorship, and investor readiness strategies to help founders like Ada not just survive, but scale. Over 120 female founders will be trained in critical growth areas such as fundraising, pitching, and expanding beyond local markets, with masterclasses led by some of Africa’s most seasoned investors and ecosystem builders.

Speaking on the initiative, Isabella Ghassemi-Smith, head of the Aurora Tech Award, said:

“At Aurora Tech Award, we focus on one thing: giving the world’s boldest women founders the fast track to scale. Nigeria has already proven itself on the global stage through our past winners, and with the Foundry for HER Bootcamp, we’re doubling down, giving early-stage founders the tools, network, and visibility to compete at the highest level.”

That night, Ada didn’t sleep much. But for the first time in weeks, her thoughts weren’t about what her startup had lost, they were about what it could become.

Because sometimes, the turning point for a startup isn’t a new investor. It’s the right opportunity. The Aurora Tech Award is a prestigious annual global prize set up by inDrive for women entrepreneurs in IT. Its goal is to give global recognition to emerging markets’ boldest female tech founders.

Following high interest from women founders across the country, the deadline for applications for this bootcamp intervention has now been extended till October 9, 2025, giving more startups the opportunity to take part in the transformative experience.

Apply for the Foundry for HER bootcamp here. For Aurora Tech Award, see details here.

Running from October 15–17, 2025, the bootcamp will equip female founders with the practical tools, expert mentorship, and investor readiness needed to scale  and successfully apply for the global Aurora Tech Award Open Call 2026.

Applications for the fully online bootcamp are open from September 8 to October 3, 2025.  The three-day program (October 15–17, 2025) will train 120 early-stage women founders from Nigeria in core areas such as  pitching, fundraising, and scaling beyond local markets, with sessions led by top ecosystem leaders and investors.

If you are a female founder or team lead of a Nigeria-based startup under five years old, founded or co-founded by a woman, apply now via link.

Nigeria is home to one of Africa’s most vibrant startup ecosystems, yet female founders still face significant barriers to capital and visibility. By partnering with The Nest Innovation Technology Park, a focal point for entrepreneurial innovation in Lagos, the Aurora Tech Award is ensuring that women entrepreneurs  access  knowledge, networks, and opportunities that enable long-term success.

“At Aurora Tech Award, we focus on one thing: giving the world’s boldest women founders the fast track to scale. Nigeria has already proven itself on the global stage through our past winners, and with the Foundry for HER Bootcamp we’re doubling down, giving early-stage founders the tools, network, and visibility to scale their companies and compete at the highest level”, said Isabella Ghassemi-Smith, head of the Aurora Tech Award.

Nigerian founders have won the Aurora Tech Award for two consecutive years: Folake Owodunni, founder of Emergency Response Africa (2024), and Solape Akinpelu, Co-Founder and CEO of HerVest (2025) Their success not only highlights the strength of Nigeria’s women-led startups on the global stage, but also provides inspiration for the next generation of founders.

“The Aurora Tech Award is more than recognition, it’s the opportunity to be part of a community that champions women in tech who are shaping the future. This award isn’t just mine, it belongs to every woman who dares to dream, build, and lead in spaces where she wasn’t expected to be. I’m proud to stand alongside bold founders creating high-growth businesses, not just for themselves but for others to follow,” said Solape Akinpelu, Nigerian entrepreneur and 2025 Aurora Tech Award winner.

Solape Akinpelu, founder of Hervest, was announced as the 2025 winner of the $30,000 prize at the grand finale held in Cairo from April 11–13. She follows in the footsteps of fellow Nigerian, Folake Owodunni, who won the award in 2024—marking a powerful moment for Nigerian women driving innovation in the global tech space.

Hervest by Solape Akinpelu is a fintech platform providing financially underserved African women access to savings, impact investing, and credit, particularly for smallholder female farmers.

Other top four outstanding female tech founders recognised at the event include the first runner-up, founder of Nido Contech Loretxu Garcia Arraztoa from Chile; the second runner-up and founder of FlexiBees Shreya Prakash from India; the Chief Executive Officer, Arkangel AI Laura Velásquez Herrera from Colombia; and the founder of UpLeap Leonie Korn from Switzerland.

The 2025 Aurora Tech Award winner will receive a cash prize of $30,000, while the second and third places get $20,000 and $15,000, respectively.

The fourth and fifth places are entitled to $10,000, respectively. Each finalist will gain exclusive access to the right investors, industry leaders, and strategic partners who can move the needle on their business.

The winners will also tap into inDrive’s expertise, team, and global network, giving them the support and resources to accelerate their growth, secure funding, and scale globally. The flagship event brought together the top 10 finalists from around the world — women building market-defining ventures — to compete for the main award prizes.

This year’s shortlist featured groundbreaking innovators from MENA, LATAM, Central Asia, and APAC, whose startups span diverse industries, including artificial intelligence, fintech, and health tech.

The 2025 edition of the award saw an unprecedented 2,018 applications from 116 countries, doubling the number of submissions from the previous year.

The final stage of the competition occurred during the regional SHE CAN conference hosted by Entreprenelle, a leading Egyptian organisation dedicated to empowering women through education, training, and entrepreneurial support.

Since its inception in 2015, SHE CAN has become one of the MENA region’s most influential industry events, attracting over 7,000 attendees annually.

Speaking on the award, Isabella Ghassemi-Smith, head of the Aurora Tech Awards, said the platform was created to help support innovators to take their ideas further.

“The Aurora Tech Award isn’t about representation for the sake of it — it’s about backing the highest-potential founders building real companies. These women aren’t here because of their gender. They’re here because they’re building businesses investors should care about. If the table wasn’t built for them, they didn’t wait for an invitation — they built their own. Aurora exists to ensure they get the capital, platform, and network to take it further,” Ghassemi-Smith said.

Also speaking on the award, Evgenia Matrosova, Chief Growth Officer and Head of Ride-Hailing at inDrive, said the decision to support these innovators was to help break the gender barrier in investment.

“Supporting female entrepreneurs in overcoming barriers and building strong networks is essential. Through the Aurora platform, we aim to attract future investment, boost visibility, and foster strategic partnerships. Our mission is to drive systemic change in emerging markets like MENA, closing the gender investment gap. The Aurora Tech Award is not just an accolade, it’s a launchpad for the next generation of unicorn founders,” he said