Have You Got An Idea That Could Possibly Change The World? Women Who Tech Wants To Hear From You

Women Who Tech Europe is on a mission to disrupt a culture and economy that's made it difficult for women entrepreneurs to access capital.

Dilnoza Shaumarova from Women Who Tech Europe recently contacted us. She wanted to know whether we will be willing to spread the word about the nonprofit organisation that has been successfully bringing together talented and renowned women breaking new ground in technology to transform the world and inspire change since 2008. Being consistent supporters of Women in Tech, it did not take Dilnozav too much time to wrangle an “of course” from us.

Women Who Tech
Sabine Seymour, the winner of the second Women Who Tech Startup Challenge in New York.

Women Who Tech has been behind some of the most thought-provoking discussions that have been led by people like startup investor Joanne Wilson, Arianna Huffington, WordPress usability expert Jane Wells of Automattic, Shaherose Charania of Founders Labs and Women 2.0, Shireen Mitchell of Digital Sistas and Elisa Camahort Page of BlogHer, to name a few.

“A whopping 90% of investor money worldwide goes to startups founded by men. That number has barely budged in a decade.”

They are driven by the rise of women in tech organisations that are working to change the ratio by advocating for STEM. They state: “It is equally important is getting women startups more access to funding. A whopping 90% of investor money worldwide goes to startups founded by men. That number has barely budged in a decade. To help address this enormous problem, we launched the Women Startup Challenge.”

Women Who Tech’s Women Startup Challenge

Earlier this week they launched Women Startup Challenge Europe. It is an initiative built on their belief that there are many women startups with the right ideas, whose products can solve problems, and possibly change the world. But the challenge is that for the women to scale and be successful, they need funding, advice, and guidance, and this where Women Startup Challenge steps in.

Also Read: Women In Tech: Experiences, Challenges & Lessons Learnt Along The Way

They are looking to give women a platform to showcase their startups and also get the support they need. This year the event will be co-hosted by the Office of the Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo and will be held on 25th October 2018. Looking to showcase ten early stage women-led startups from across Europe, the selected businesses will get to pitch their venture to top investors and tech leaders like Mary McKenna, MBE, is a well-known Irish technology entrepreneur and angel investor. All ten finalists will receive pitch coaching throughout the Women Startup Challenge, and they will also get to have a one on one with investors in Paris.

Women Who Tech
Courtesy of Women Who Tech

Since launching the first Women Startup Challenge in partnership with Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist and Craig Newmark Philanthropies, alumni have closed seven-figure investment rounds, have collectively raised more than $25M, brought on stellar advisors, got accepted into competitive accelerators like Techstars. The women-focused enterprise has had the support of movers and shakers like Mozilla, LinkedIn, Backstage Capital, 500 Startups, and more. Promising $50,000+ in cash prizes and startup-friendly services, so far over 2,000 early-stage ventures, 40% of them being women of colour, have applied to their Women Startup Challenges across Europe and the US. The event itself has previously been co-hosted by The Mayor of London and City Hall, Google, Microsoft, LinkedIn, and more.

Women Who Tech
Maci Peterson of On Second Thought Won the Women Startup Challenge Pitch Competition

If you think you have what it takes to be one of the ten best early stage women-led startup applicants who will be called upon on 25 October 2018 to Paris City Hall, Hôtel de Ville, then make sure you get your application in. Application deadline set for 3rd August 2018.

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Founding Editor in Chief at FashNerd.com | editor@fashnerd.com | Website

Founding editor-in-chief of FashNerd.com, Muchaneta is currently one of the leading influencers writing about the merger of fashion with technology and wearable technology. She has also given talks at Premiere Vision, Munich Fabric Start and Pure London, to name a few. Besides working as a fashion innovation consultant for various fashion companies like LVMH Atelier, Muchaneta has also contributed to Vogue Business, is a senior contributor at The Interline and an associate lecturer at London College of Fashion, UAL.