Two Nigerian entrepreneurs have been shortlisted among the top 10 finalists for the 2025 Aurora Tech Award. These trailblazing entrepreneurs—Manzo Nyifamu Ogechi, founder of Farmatrix, and Solape Akinpelu, founder of HerVest—lead startups that are driving impact through technology.
Other finalists include: Shreya Prakash, founder of FlexiBees (India), Laura Velásquez Herrera, founder of Arkangel AI (Colombia), Gulnaza Khalmanbetova, founder of Mama Space (Kyrgyzstan), Thais Sterenberg de Oliveira, founder of Elephan (Brazil), Leonie Korn, founder of UpLeap (Switzerland), Veronica Lee, founder of Borderless (Uzbekistan), Loretxu GarcÃa, founder of Nido Contech (Chile) and Heiura Itae Tetaa, founder of E-Reo (French Polynesia).
Speaking on the award, Isabella Ghassemi-Smith, Head of Startups at the Aurora Tech Awards, explained that the award was established to support the next generation of entrepreneurs who are redefining industries.
"Aurora isn't just a tech award—it's a launchpad for the next generation of unicorn founders in emerging markets. With funding, high-profile investor access, and a global network, we back the boldest women in tech who are building ventures that will redefine industries," Ghassemi-Smith said.
She noted that the recognition of Nigerian female founders highlights the growing influence of women-led startups in tackling societal challenges through technology.
"This year's shortlist features trailblazing founders from MENA, LATAM, Central Asia, and APAC, each leading startups offering solutions across industries ranging from artificial intelligence and fintech to health tech and beyond. The finalists have demonstrated exceptional leadership and technological advancements in their respective fields. Half of the startups are at the seed stage, three are at the pre-seed level, and the rest are at the FFF and angel investment stages. Three startups focus on health tech, one on agrotech, one on eco-tech, two on ed-tech, one on fintech, and one on HR-tech," she added.
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| Manzo Nyifamu Ogechi, founder of Farmatrix |
FARMATRIX: REVOLUTIONIZING AGRICULTURE THROUGH TECHNOLOGY
Farmatrix, an agro-allied technology company, is transforming agriculture in Nigeria by leveraging technology to improve market access and sustainability for smallholder farmers. Founded by Nyifamu Ogechi, a certified Food System Specialist and Climate Reality Leader, the company has impacted over 3,000 farmers by reducing post-harvest losses and increasing profitability.
With a background in Computer Science and an MBA, Nyifamu is committed to building a more resilient food system across Africa. Her journey began when she moved from Lagos to Northern Nigeria, witnessing firsthand the challenges farmers face, from post-harvest losses to limited market access. This inspired her to launch Farmatrix, a tech-driven platform that connects farmers to markets, financing, and storage solutions, ensuring they earn more.
Unlike traditional agricultural platforms, Farmatrix integrates logistics, climate-smart inputs, and financial tools, creating a seamless farm-to-market ecosystem. The startup advances multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including:
- SDG 1: No Poverty
- SDG 2: Zero Hunger
- SDG 5: Gender Equality
- SDG 8: Decent Work & Economic Growth
- SDG 9: Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure
HerVest: BRIDGING THE GENDER FINANCE GAP
Another Nigerian finalist, Solape Akinpelu, founder and CEO of HerVest, is tackling the gender equality gap in Nigeria by empowering women through inclusive financial services (SDG 5: Gender Equality).
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| Solape Akinpelu, founder of HerVest |
HerVest provides targeted savings, impact investments, and credit financing to smallholder women farmers and women-led SMEs, addressing the $42 billion gender finance gap in Africa (SDG 8: Decent Work & Economic Growth). By leveraging technology for peer-to-peer capital reallocation, HerVest connects female entrepreneurs to flexible loans and resources, enabling them to scale their businesses and achieve financial independence (SDG 9: Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure).
With women making up 41% of micro-businesses in Nigeria yet receiving less than 15% of conventional loans, HerVest is reshaping financial access by providing low-interest financing to credible female entrepreneurs and smallholder farmers (SDG 1: No Poverty). By doing so, HerVest fosters a more inclusive financial ecosystem, where women can thrive, invest, and contribute to sustainable economic growth (SDG 2: Zero Hunger).
The Impact of the Aurora Tech Award
Speaking on the award's influence, Nyifamu Ogechi noted: "Doing business in Nigeria is not for the weak, and being a woman in agritech demands even more resilience. Seeing past winner Chinwendu of Bridge Merchant Connect succeed inspired me. The Aurora Tech Award aligns perfectly with my vision for Farmatrix and scaling our impact."
The Aurora Tech Award is an annual global prize established in 2020 by inDrive to support and recognize women founders of early-stage technology startups. The award champions female entrepreneurs who drive innovation and create meaningful social impact through technology.
Finalists were selected based on their startups' innovation, scalability, and social impact. A distinguished panel of industry experts and investors will evaluate their work before announcing the winners at the upcoming Aurora Tech Award Ceremony on April 11-13 in Cairo. The final pitch competition will be held at SHE CAN 2025, organized by Entreprenelle.
The Aurora Tech Award celebrates visionary women entrepreneurs redefining the technology landscape and recognizes the most promising female founders in emerging markets.
ABOUT THE AURORA TECH AWARD
The Aurora Tech Award is a non-profit initiative of inDrive, a global mobility and urban services platform. It honors women tech startup founders whose projects profoundly impact international development. The award aims to support women in advanced technologies, especially female entrepreneurs.
inDrive operates in over 888 cities across 48 countries. Driven by its mission of challenging social injustice, the company is committed to positively impacting the lives of one billion people by 2030. It pursues this goal through its core business, which supports local communities via a fair pricing model, and through inVision, its non-profit arm.
inVision's community empowerment programs advance education, sports, arts, sciences, gender equality, and other vital initiatives.
inDrive is a global mobility and urban services platform. The inDrive app has been downloaded over 200 million times and was the second most downloaded mobility app in 2023.
In addition to ride-hailing, inDrive provides a growing list of urban services, including:
- Intercity transportation
- Freight delivery
- Task assistance
- Courier delivery
In 2023, inDrive launched New Ventures, its venture and M&A arm.
For more information, visit www.inDrive.com.
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