Aurora Ventures has Launched with backing from inDrive – a global mobility and delivery platform scaled to unicorn status across the same emerging markets. The program is investing in female Led startups in Africa for its 2026 pilot year and Nigeria is one of the project’s priority markets.
The launch follows the successful conclusion of the 2026 Aurora Tech Award in Santiago, Chile, where a Nigerian, Adeola Ayoola-Famasi, was named among the top 10 finalists from a record-breaking field of 3,400 applicants.
Aurora Ventures, an early-stage investment program, is designed to leverage one of the world’s largest pipelines of underserved female talent. It is built on a proprietary sourcing advantage derived from five years of Aurora Tech Award data.
The Aurora Tech Award backs the boldest female tech founders in emerging markets
With applications exploding by nearly 30 times since 2021, the Award noticed a persistent market inefficiency, fuelled by high-traction, high-growth businesses led by women in MENA, Africa, and Latin America, which are consistently undervalued and overlooked by traditional venture capital.
The program, Aurora Ventures, aims to capture the “mispricing” faced by women founders by investing $180k–$250k at the pre-seed and seed stages. The program also utilises the Aurora Tech Award’s network to identify companies before their valuations fully reflect their performance, creating a repeatable model for generating alpha in emerging markets.
Speaking on the initiative, Head of Aurora Ventures, Isabella Ghassemi-Smith, described the launch of Aurora Ventures as a disciplined investment program built on the conviction that women founders are one of the most overlooked opportunities in venture capital today.
”Over the past five years, we’ve seen a repeating pattern: exceptional women building rigorous businesses but reaching institutional capital later and on worse terms than their performance justifies,” says Ghassemi-Smith.
She stated that the success stories of the top 10 finalists underscore the calibre of startups the initiative intends to back.
Also speaking, Chief Growth Businesses Officer, inDrive, Andries Smit, explained that “We built inDrive against all odds, competing against better-funded incumbents. We see the same thing playing out with women founders in emerging markets today. Backing Aurora Ventures is not charity; it is the same bet we made on ourselves.”
The 2026 pilot program focuses on building an initial portfolio and generating the track record necessary to transition into a formal GP/LP fund structure. By providing capital, network access, and operational guidance, Aurora Ventures seeks to accelerate portfolio companies toward subsequent funding rounds on more equitable terms.
Aurora Tech Venture awards is open to Women-founded and Co-founded Startups that meet these criteria
-Stage: Pre-seed & Seed
-Investment Check: Up to $250K
-Geography: Mena, Africa, Latam
Aurora Ventures is not Your Standard VC
It invests and backs women founders anchored on how women build and what they’re building for.
Alongside capital, they give founders access to the right connections and the right communities needed to reach the next stage of growth
Benefits of Aurora Tech Awards
-Capital: Access to non-dilutive capital
-Connection: Warm introductions to key investors
-Community: An entrepreneurial environment to grow and thrive with
How it works?
Step 1 – Top 100
Aurora selects the Top 100 Female Founders, who receive a structured evaluation from up to three of Aurora’s global VC partners. Founders get detailed feedback from strengths profiling to market and industry context to help supercharge their next steps.
Step 2 – Top 30
VC investors then shortlist the Top 30 Female Founders to pitch to investors. Ten finalists are selected based on commercial viability, founder potential, and investor interest.
Step 3 – Finals
The 10 Aurora Tech Award finalists are invited to a networking event to connect with like-minded founders and investors, refine their pitch decks and go-to-market strategy, and join a tailored mentorship program that supports their growth ahead of the final selection.
How to Apply
Women-founded and Co-founded Startups in Africa can apply using this 👉 Link
If you have any questions, feel free to email the organization at 👉 aurora@auroratechaward.com
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