VivaTech & 50inTech have joined forces with Axa, Clear Channel, Salesforce and Societe Generale to organise the Female Founder Challenge (FFC). This Challenge promotes women-led startups and celebrates the ones that investors should consider regardless of their stage. It facilitates meetings between the 13 VC juries and the 10 finalist startups, aiming to accelerate their financing.
Today we’re pleased to present to you the 10 finalists of the FFCwho were revealed on June 2 during the VivaTech press conference.
10 finalists trained for a final pitch contest
Beyond the final pitch contest organized on June 17 at VivaTech, the Challenge includes an online bootcamp on fundraising, 1:1 meetings with investors, a guided tour of VivaTech and an exclusive breakfast with women executives.
The Time to Raise bootcamp helped the 350 women applicants to become fundraising experts through masterclasses led by international VCs and experts such as EQT Ventures, Balderton, Northzone and Playfair.
Appointments with investors will be available online during the 4 days of the event and 2 hours will be dedicated, in person, to match the finalists and the FFC jury.
For the first time, the FFC award ceremony will take place in a hybrid format; so that everyone can see it from their living room! Do not miss this final battle and get to know the winner on June 17, 9:30 am CET.
The 10 finalists are finally revealed!
This year, the winner of the Female Founder Challenge will benefit from exclusive meetings with the VC jury, a double mentoring with Claire Calmejane (Director of Innovation at Société Générale) and Emilie Sidiqian (Managing Director of Salesforce France) as well as exceptional exposure in global conferences and specialized media thanks to the Women"e;s Forum and Maddyness. The award will be presented by Cédric O, French Minister of State for Digital and telecommunications.
Without further ado, meet the 10 finalists who will compete on June 17 at Viva Technology!
Marie Amigues, Co-founder & COO, Alocai (Germany)
Democratizing game localization through AI to deliver superior gaming content across the globe in just one click.
Sector: software development, cloud services
Expected funding round: seed
Funds needed: €600K required, €400K secured for a combined €1M round
Clarisse Hagege, Co-founder & CEO, DFNS (France)
DFNS is an API for digital asset security. They turn digital assets into safer assets. Financial institutions of all sizes - from startups to Tier 1 banks - use DFNS"e;s plug-and-play SaaS to scale safely by adding new assets to their portfolio on a hack proof, cryptographic security infrastructure.
Area of activity: cybersecurity, defense
Expected funding round: seed
Funds needed: around 5M€ in private equity + Bpifrance
Agnes Peng, COO, GliaCloud (Taiwan)
GliaCloud is an AI startup dedicated to empowering the media and advertising industry to turn their stories into quality videos at scale.
Area of activity: marketing, advertising, communication
Expected funding round: Series A
Funds needed: M
Polina Mikhaylova, Founder and CEO, KNOT (France)
KNOT implements electric scooter sharing kiosks designed with minimal civil engineering - making them robust, solar powered and vandalism-resistant.
Area of activity: mobility, transportation
Expected funding round: Series A
Funds needed: €1M
Déborah Gaël, Founder and CEO, Koolboks (France)
Koolboks makes eco-friendly refrigeration accessible and affordable to all.
Area of activity: energy
Expected funding round: seed
Funds needed: €2M
Marjorie Darcet, Co-founder and CEO, Lixo (France)
Lixo develops performance optimization solutions for the waste management and recovery industry.
Area of activity: industry, circular economy
Expected funding round: seed
Funds needed: €1.2M
Louiza HACENE, Co-founder and CEO, Malou (France)
MalouApp is the all-in-one solution that helps restaurants increase and acquire clients online.
Area of activity: marketing, advertising, communication
Expected funding round: seed
Funds needed: €2M
Agathe Machavoine, Co-founder, Ublo (France)
Ublo is a property-management automation platform for professional landlords.
Area of activity: software development, cloud services
Expected funding round: seed
Funds needed: €750K
Lauren Dannay, Co-founder & COO, Whoomies (France)
Whoomies’ mission is to create tomorrow‘s shared-housing rental experience.
Area of activity: smart city, building
Expected funding round: Serie A
Funds needed: €5M
Sem Ponnambalam, Co-founder & CEO, Xahive (UK)
Xahive offers secure and compliant end-to-end data transmission for enterprises and IoT, along with enterprise education and governance management tools.
Area of activity: cybersecurity, defense
Expected funding round: Seed
Funds needed: $15M
