Organised by inDrive, the award offers a total prize pool of $85,000 and global exposure to innovative female entrepreneurs driving social impact.

The 2026 edition will run from August 12 to November 12, 2025, inviting women founders from across the world to showcase tech solutions that combine innovation with measurable change.

Since its inception in 2021, the Aurora Tech Award has become a drive for elevating underrepresented voices in technology. In 2025 alone, it received a record-breaking 2,018 applications from 116 countries, twice the number from the previous year, with African innovators winning the top prize for three consecutive years. 

Nigeria’s Solape Akinpelu claimed the 2025 first prize, while finalists came from diverse fields including health tech, fintech, AI, edtech, and agrotech.

Head of the Aurora Tech Award, Isabella Ghassemi-Smith, spoke on its purpose, “The Aurora Tech Award is more than a prize – it’s a springboard for the next generation of bold women founders from emerging markets. We provide not just funding, but access to top investors, global networks, and the tools to help scale ventures that will shape the future of entire industries.”

Benefits

Female tech founders stand a chance to receive the following prices:

• Grand Prize: $50,000 for the winner.
• First Runner-Up: $20,000.
• Second Runner-Up: $15,000.
• Access to inDrive’s global expertise, curated mentorship programmes, and strategic networking opportunities.
• Direct exposure to investors and industry partners.
• Increased visibility and credibility on the global stage.
• Support in scaling, fundraising, and market expansion.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following criteria:

1. The startup must be owned or co-owned by a woman.
2. Must be less than 5 years old.
3. Have a working prototype and be at the pre-seed stage.
4. Total funding raised must not exceed $6 million.

How to Apply

Eligible candidates can apply online via the website before the deadline on Wednesday, November 12, 2025.

Competition Timeline

• 8 December 2025: Announcement of the Top 100 quarter-finalists.
• Following weeks: Selection of the Top 30 semi-finalists.
• Early 2026: Announcement of the Top 3 finalists.
• February–March 2026: Tailored mentorship programme for finalists.
• March–April 2026: Aurora Tech Award ceremony.

Entries will be assessed by a panel of investors and industry experts, focusing on innovation, scalability, and social impact.

2025 winner Solape Akinpelu said, “Winning the Aurora Tech Award proved that African women founders can thrive on the global stage. The funding, mentorship, and exposure transformed my organisation’s growth. I urge South African women innovators to apply, your ideas deserve to be seen and celebrated.”

From Chile, finalist Loretxu Garcia noted that, “What inspired me was knowing there’s an award that recognises not just technology, but the courage to innovate from our own lived realities. Applying to Aurora was my way of saying: women are also shaping the future through science.”

Third-place winner Shreya Prakash of FlexiBees, India, added, “Very few women-centric programmes provide actual funding. As a woman founder, it was heartening to see that the Aurora Tech Award backed its belief in women entrepreneurs with the catalyst of capital.”

The award is a non-profit initiative of inDrive, a global mobility and urban services platform operating in 982 cities across 48 countries. Known for its peer-to-peer ride-hailing price negotiation model, inDrive is the world’s second-most downloaded ride-hailing app.

Through the Aurora Tech Award, inDrive aims to address the fact that less than 2% of global VC funding goes to women-led startups, shifting resources and recognition to founders building their own platforms rather than waiting for a seat at the table.

For more information, visit the website.

Among the initiatives is the Hustle Academy for Women-Led Businesses, the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa: Women Founders Cohort, and a social media campaign honoring influential women working in Africa’s technology sector.

The initiatives, according to the company, are in honor of International Women’s Day.

The head of the startup ecosystem for Africa, Folarin Aiayegbusi, commented on the initiatives, saying, “We are happy to announce the selected startups for the inaugural class of our Google for Startups Accelerator Africa: Women Founders Cohort.

These women are tackling some of Africa’s most pressing challenges, and we’re excited to support them as they build the future.”

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Explaining, Google stated that its hustle academy is a boot camp-style training program designed to help entrepreneurs increase revenue, position themselves for investment, and build sustainable businesses for the future. It stated that it will host six women-focused cohorts of the hustle academy program in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa throughout March.

The firm further stated that it has selected 15 startups from Nigeria, and seven other African countries for the initiatives.

The Head of Communications, Google Africa, Dorothy Ooko, added, “At Google, we are committed to providing women entrepreneurs in Africa with access to funding, mentorship, and networking opportunities. Through our programs, we aim to bridge the gap and empower women to succeed in their respective fields.”

According to the firm, the startups selected for the Startups Accelerator Africa Women Founders Cohort include Afriwell Health (Congo), Alajo App (Nigeria), eWaka (Kenya), Farmer Lifeline (Kenya), Maxibuy (Nigeria), MosMos (Kenya), Gobeba (Kenya), Hepta Pay (Rwanda), Jem HR (South Africa), Kola Market (Ghana), Mipango (Tanzania), Smart Ikigega (Rwanda), Suitch (Cameroon), Tyms Africa (Nigeria), and Zydii (Kenya).