In a stunning encore of innovation and impact, Solape Akinpelu, the visionary behind Hervest, has won the $30,000 Aurora Tech Award for 2025 — marking the second consecutive year a Nigerian entrepreneur has claimed the top prize.
The announcement was made at the grand finale of the global competition held in Cairo, Egypt, from April 11–13. Akinpelu now joins Folake Owodunni, who took home the same award in 2024, further solidifying Nigeria’s rising influence in the global tech and innovation space.
Empowering Africa’s Women, One Fintech Solution at a Time
Akinpelu’s startup, Hervest, is a fintech platform transforming lives by offering financial access to underserved African women—particularly smallholder female farmers—through savings, credit, and impact investing opportunities.
“This win is not just for me—it’s for every woman building, thriving, and transforming communities through tech,” Akinpelu said after the announcement.
A Global Platform for Trailblazing Women
The 2025 Aurora Tech Award, organized by inDrive, recognizes female founders leveraging technology to solve real-world problems. This year’s edition received a record-breaking 2,018 applications from 116 countries, nearly doubling last year’s entries.
Joining Akinpelu among the top 5 winners were:
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Loretxu Garcia Arraztoa (Chile) – 1st Runner-up, Founder of Nido Contech
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Shreya Prakash (India) – 2nd Runner-up, Founder of FlexiBees
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Laura Velásquez Herrera (Colombia) – CEO, Arkangel AI
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Leonie Korn (Switzerland) – Founder of UpLeap
In total, finalists shared over $85,000 in prize money, with $20,000 and $15,000 awarded to second and third place, and $10,000 each for fourth and fifth positions.
More Than Just a Prize
Beyond the cash reward, the winners gained exclusive access to global investors, strategic partners, and inDrive’s vast network and resources—setting them up for scale, funding, and accelerated global growth.
This year’s finalists represented some of the most cutting-edge tech ventures across AI, fintech, healthtech, and sustainability, hailing from diverse regions like MENA, LATAM, APAC, and Central Asia.
Women Changing the Narrative
The award ceremony was hosted during the SHE CAN Conference, the largest female-focused entrepreneurship event in the MENA region, organized by Entreprenelle, a powerhouse in women’s empowerment through education and business development.
“We created the Aurora Tech Award to amplify bold, world-changing ideas by women,” said Isabella Ghassemi-Smith, Head of the Aurora Tech Awards.
Evgenia Matrosova, Chief Growth Officer at inDrive, emphasized the mission behind the initiative:
“We’re breaking down barriers in the investment world by spotlighting the exceptional talent of women founders.”
With two Nigerian winners in two years, the Aurora Tech Award is fast becoming a launchpad for African women shaping the future of technology.
