The Aurora Tech Award, a global award dedicated to supporting outstanding female tech founders from emerging markets, has unveiled its Top 10 Finalists for 2026 after a rigorous multi-stage evaluation process. A record 3,400 applications were submitted from 127 countries, highlighting growing global interest and participation.
The organisers said the Top 10 finalists were selected from an initial Top 100 shortlist. The final selection reflects what the award described as the continued rise of female entrepreneurship in emerging economies and the increasing quality of women-led startups building scalable solutions in high-growth markets.
According to the organisers, the 2026 Top 10 includes founders from Nigeria, Kenya, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, and Panama, among others. The award noted that the finalists showcase the depth of innovation across emerging markets and are tackling real, local challenges. These include improving access to credit and healthcare insights, digitising recycling value chains, strengthening agricultural supply chains, and expanding financial inclusion for underserved communities.
Among the 2026 Top 10 Finalists is Adeola Ayoola, Founder of Famasi in Nigeria. Famasi is a seed-stage healthtech platform that enables pharmacies to manage operations and track stock in real time across a connected network. By improving visibility of medicine availability, the platform allows prescriptions to be routed to nearby pharmacies where medication is in stock. This, according to the company, improves access and efficiency for patients.
Also selected is Penny Musengi, Founder of Pesira Technologies in Kenya. Pesira Technologies is a seed-stage agritech platform bridging Africa’s agricultural digital divide by connecting farmers, agribusinesses, and finance providers within a unified ecosystem. The platform expands access to financial services and digital marketplaces, supporting farm growth and strengthening agricultural supply chains.
The organisers stated that the Top 10 Finalists will pitch at a global event later in the year. Winners will receive non-dilutive funding, direct access to Aurora’s Global VC Network, and continued support designed to help them scale sustainably.
Aurora said this year’s cohort represents a diverse mix of regions and sectors, with strong representation from Latin America, Africa, and other emerging ecosystems. The selected startups operate across key industries including Artificial Intelligence, Fintech, HealthTech, Sustainability, Agritech, HRTech, and Enterprise Software. All finalists are at either pre-seed or seed stage, demonstrating strong early traction and high potential for scalable impact.
Powered by inDrive, Aurora explained that its selection process is built on investor conviction. Each year, thousands of applications are reviewed through what it described as a structured, multi-layered framework that combines independent assessments by venture capital partners with Aurora’s own execution benchmarks.
The award collaborates with a curated network of more than 40 venture capital firms across Latin America, the MENA region, Africa, and South Asia. According to Aurora, startups are evaluated by investors with direct experience in the relevant regions, sectors, and growth stages, ensuring informed and sector-specific assessments rather than generic scoring.
Beyond quantitative evaluation, investors signal which founders they would actively engage with, making demonstrated investor interest a core determinant of selection. To determine the Top 10 Finalists, Aurora said three key factors are considered: independent VC evaluations, expressed investor conviction, and overall performance during its initial assessment stages.
The organisers noted that the outcome offers more than recognition, stating that it provides founders with enhanced visibility, credibility, access to capital, and strategic positioning to accelerate their next stage of growth.
inDrive, which powers the award, is a global mobility and urban services platform. The inDrive app has been downloaded more than 400 million times and was the second-most-downloaded mobility app for the fourth consecutive year. In addition to ride-hailing, inDrive provides intercity transportation, delivery, and financial services. In 2023, inDrive launched New Ventures, its venture and M&A arm.
