Meet the 2023 finalists of the WomenEntrepreneurs4Good program
The 10 finalists' projects of the WomenEntrepreneurs4Good program have just been announced. The Women's Forum for the Economy & Society, in collaboration with HEC Paris Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center, launched the WomenEntrepreneurs4Good in 2021. This year, Bank of America and Bredin Prat have joined the program as new partners. This initiative was conceived as a tangible response to mitigate the adverse effects of the COVID crisis on women entrepreneurs.
A tremendous acceleration of the program
Every year, the program is becoming more and more attractive. While the second edition in 2022 received 99 applications (twice as many as the year before), 2023 recorded more than 800 applications coming from 80 countries around the globe! 200 women were trained during the startup sprint that provided them with key skills on market and customer research. They then turned their customer insights into a value proposition, a prototype and a pitch deck.
One of the participants shared, ‘It forced us to refine our value proposition and identify areas where we can improve the product for our users.’ Another, ‘The program was dynamic and fast paced and full of content and tools to articulate our story’.
The final selection, which took place on June 7th, was based on the innovation and impact of the project, the social/environmental challenge and solution proposed, and the strength of the team. This year, the grand jury was made up of high-level representatives from the Women's Forum partners and network:
- Vanessa Holtz, Bank of America CEO, Securities Europe
- Martin Powell, Group Sustainability Director at AXA
- Inge Kerkloh-Devif, Senior Executive Director - HEC Paris Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center
- Jerôme Morisseau, Co-Head of Investment Banking France at Bank of America & Dep CEO and Board member BOFASE
- Antoine Leprêtre, Director of the Incubateur HEC Paris
- Clémence Fallet, Partner at Bredin Prat
- Laetitia Colonna, Editorial and Content Director, Women's Forum
Overview of the new laureates
After a thorough screening of each application, the Grand Jury selected the 10 top entrepreneurs who will have the exceptional chance to:
- Join the Incubateur HEC Paris for three months,
- Present their project at the Women’s Forum Global Meeting,
- Attend dedicated masterclasses.
Here are the 2023 finalist projects:
"BAOM is a biotech start-up that focuses on growing biofilms that mimic ordinary packaging materials currently on the market."
Melian Dott & Chloe Cormack (South Africa)
Femfree
"Femfree is the trusted digital companion for maternity care professionals and their patients."
Marie Rasmont (Netherlands)
"Intacte is the solution for premium and luxury beauty brands to revalue their unsold stock."
Gabrielle Flipo & Olivia Bally (France)
"My Medic Eye lets you keep an eye on your family's health with an intelligent folder that belongs to you."
Yael Azagury (Spain)
"mywagepay is a neobank built for Africa."
Beth Mwangi (Kenya)
"Pop2see is about building equitable, inclusive & accessible environments to empower blind people and make them become independent."
Aliki Rangou (Greece)
"We offer eco-bricks made from recycled plastic waste for construction activities."
Hellena Sailas (Tanzania)
"At Revive Battery, we mitigate the early death of lead-acid batteries and regenerate them 2-3 times for up to 90% of their original capacity."
Ananta Vangmai (Netherlands)
"Centum empowers women through skill development, information sharing, conferences, workshops, and economic independence."
Janet Kabugho (Uganda)
"We are a social enterprise working for creating gender balance in the STEM field."
Pratiksha Pandey & Sulata Dhakal (Nepal)