Female Founder Award 2026
The Female Founder Award, celebrates the women leading innovative startups that are driving the disruptive technologies shaping the future. Our main objective is to empower women entrepreneurs by facilitating networking opportunities and access to funding through experience-sharing and connecting them with venture capitalists. While female-founded companies still receive only 12% of venture funding, it’s time to help women make their voices heard.
The focus of the award is on innovation, scalability and viability, team profile, business model strength, and solutions that contribute to positive environmental and social impact.
Created eight years ago, the Female Founder Challenge was designed to empower women entrepreneurs by facilitating networking opportunities, increasing brand visibility, and providing access to funding. Over the years, it has become a platform for recognizing female founders who are building forward-looking technology ventures with strong growth potential.
Benefits
For the Top 30 Female Founders:
- One 4-day pass to attend the 2026 edition of Viva Technology (€3500 excluding VAT)
For the 5 finalists
- One-to-one meetings booked with VCs during Office Hours
- Strong visibility across VivaTech’s communication channels
- Two 4-day passes to attend the 2026 edition of VivaTech (€700 excluding VAT)
For the Winner
- Fundraising coaching by IRIS (from pitch deck revamp to intros to VCs)
- Extensive visibility across VivaTech’s communication channels
- A free Startup Corner at the 2026 edition of VivaTech (€3,500 excluding VAT)
- A 5-month business development mentoring program with Forvis Mazars XFactory
- An interview in the VT news, the live channel of VivaTech
Eligibility
- Open to all female founders, co-founders, CEOs, or Co-CEOs of a startup in the tech sector wishing to raise funds
- Awards are also open to all candidates of the previous editions of the Female Founder Awards
- The candidate must be a natural person over the age of 18 years who has participated in the incorporation of and/or is the legal representation of the startup
Selection Criteria
- Innovation Level of relevance, originality and innovation demonstrated by the tech solution
- Team Profile Profile of the female founder(s) and co-founder(s)
- Impact Solutions that improve environmental and social impact
- Scalability & Viability Ability to scale sustainably
- Business Model Demonstrated traction and product/market fit
Application Deadline: 2 February 2026
Also Read: Other Opportunities to Apply