The Boldest 5 Aurora Tech Award Winners of 2025

Solape Akinpelu built HerVest to change how finance works for women. She knew women are already skilled at managing money and growth, yet most financial systems shut them out. Where others saw barriers, Solape saw a chance to design something bold.

HerVest gives women access to savings, investments, and impact-driven education. It’s about creating a system that reflects their ambitions. Every woman who joins HerVest takes control of her future on her own terms.

Solape’s determination has already led to successful funding rounds, but she dreams bigger. If she could be introduced to one person, it would be Serena Williams: “I’m a big fan of her and her fund, Serena Ventures. I admire the way she stewards capital to those who need it most. That’s the kind of purposeful capital we want.”

At Aurora, we see Solape as more than a founder. She is a leader reshaping finance with vision and clarity. Together we build a table where there’s no seat, and we invite more women to sit with us as decision-makers of the financial future.

The construction industry produces more waste than most people can imagine. Many saw this as an unavoidable problem. Loretxu García saw a chance to build differently.

She launched Nido Contech to turn industrial waste into biomaterials for construction. Durable. Sustainable. Scalable. Materials that challenge the old model of building and prove that responsibility can be profitable.

For Loretxu, this is reimagining an entire industry so the next generation doesn’t inherit the same damage.

Aurora stands with founders like Loretxu who do not wait for change, they create it. Together we build a table where there’s no seat, and place sustainability at the center of growth.

Across India, many women step away from their careers because flexible jobs are almost impossible to find. At the same time, companies struggle to hire the talent they need. Shreya Prakash decided to connect these two realities and build something new.

FlexiBees matches skilled women with companies through flexible, remote, and part-time work. The result is simple and powerful: women stay in the workforce, and businesses grow faster with the right talent.

Shreya shows that the future of work is not rigid. It’s flexible, smart, and designed around real lives.

For Shreya, the greatest lesson from startup life has been the importance of mental resilience. “You can always build skills or hire for them, but resilience, the ability to keep going through uncertainty is the most critical quality of all.”

At Aurora, we back founders who rewrite the rulebook. Shreya proves bold ideas can reshape entire systems. Together we build a table where there’s no seat, and we open it to women choosing how and where they work.

Twelve years ago, Laura Velásquez Herrera faced a personal tragedy that reshaped her purpose. In just two months, she lost three close family members, not because treatment was unavailable, but because their illnesses were not diagnosed in time. Instead of accepting this reality, Laura chose to act. She decided to build technology that could change how healthcare works for millions.

That decision became Arkangel AI, a company using artificial intelligence for early disease detection. Today, more than half of global deaths are caused by conditions that could be treated if identified sooner. Arkangel AI brings powerful diagnostic tools to healthcare systems so that lives can be saved with timely action.

For Laura, this mission is deeply personal, but it is also global. She believes healthcare access can and must be different: smarter, faster, more human. Leadership, she says, is about growth not only for the company, but also for the people around you. Authenticity and vision guide her forward.

One of her biggest surprises on the founder journey has been the team she has built. “Being surrounded by people hungry to change the world is extraordinary. Together, we’re building something bigger than ourselves, something that can leave a legacy for generations.”

At Aurora, we recognize founders like Laura who transform pain into bold innovation. She is building a new model of healthcare. Together we build a table where there’s no seat, and we invite women like Laura to lead the future of global health.

On a university project in South Africa, Leonie Korn saw something urgent: many healthcare professionals lacked access to affordable training. Instead of seeing an impossible challenge, she saw the chance to build smarter.

Leonie co-founded UpLeap, a platform using AI to scale medical training globally. Doctors and nurses in low-resource settings can now access education that once felt out of reach.

It’s about making sure quality healthcare training is available anywhere, not only in privileged regions.

What has surprised her most about the founder journey is the speed of change. Coming from a research background, she expected progress to be slow and methodical. Instead, startup life taught her to fail fast, iterate, and adapt quickly. “It moves fast, but there’s also so much energy around you. People want you to succeed.”

At Aurora, we back leaders who democratize opportunity. Leonie shows how bold choices and clear vision can change global health. Together we build a table where there’s no seat, and we invite women everywhere to shape the systems we all depend on.