Aurora Tech Award announces Top 10 Finalists for 2026

The Aurora Tech Award, the only global award dedicated to supporting outstanding female tech founders from emerging markets, has unveiled its Top 10 Finalists for 2026.

The finalists were selected following a rigorous multi-stage evaluation process from a record 3,400 applications submitted across 127 countries. The Top 10 emerged from an initial Top 100 shortlist, reflecting the continued rise of female entrepreneurship in emerging economies and the growing quality of women-led startups building scalable solutions in high-growth markets.

The 2026 Top 10 includes founders from Nigeria, Kenya, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, and Panama, among others, showcasing the depth of innovation across emerging markets. The startups address real, local challenges, from improving access to credit and healthcare insights, to digitising recycling value chains, strengthening agricultural supply chains, and expanding financial inclusion for underserved communities.

Among the 2026 Top 10 Finalists are:
Adeola Ayoola, Founder of Famasi (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, improving access and efficiency for patients.

Penny Musengi, Founder of Pesira Technologies (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 Top 10 Finalists will pitch at a global event later in the year, where the winners will receive non-dilutive funding, direct access to Aurora’s Global VC Network, and continued support designed to help them scale sustainably.

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 critical 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’s selection process is built on investor conviction. Each year, thousands of applications are reviewed through 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. 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, three key factors are considered: independent VC evaluations, expressed investor conviction, and overall performance during Aurora’s initial assessment stages. The result is more than recognition; it provides founders with enhanced visibility, credibility, capital access, and strategic positioning to accelerate their next stage of growth.