The Award
Female Founder Award 2026
While female-founded companies still receive only 12% of venture funding, it’s time to help women make their voices heard.*
The Female Founder Award was created 8 years ago to empower women entrepreneurs by facilitating networking opportunities, raising brand awareness, and providing access to funding.
The five finalists will be invited to pitch in June at VivaTech 2026.
The winner will be announced alongside the other award winners during the VivaTech Global Awards Ceremony, gaining significant visibility and a prominent spotlight during the event.
*Source: Sifted – 100 Women in Tech 2025
Selection Criteria
★ Innovation:
Level of relevance, originality and innovation demonstrated by the tech solution.
★ Scalability & Viability:
Ability of the solution to scale while remaining technically, economically and environmentally viable.
★ Team Profile:
Profile of the female founder(s) and co-founder(s), ability to lead the project to success, hard and soft skills of the operational team.
★ Business Model:
Your business model demonstrated traction and product/market fit.
★ Impact:
Solutions that contribute to improving environmental and social impact.
