Aurora Ventures Officially Present, Encourage More Equal Funding Opportunities for Female Founders

Photo: Special

JAKARTA - The development of the startup ecosystem in various developing countries continues to show significant growth in recent years. However, in the midst of this growth, female founders still face major challenges in gaining equal access to funding and investment support.

Seeing this condition, Aurora Ventures was officially launched as an early stage investment program that focuses on supporting female founders in emerging markets. This program has the support of inDrive, a global mobility and delivery platform that has grown into a unicorn in various developing countries, including the region that is the focus of Aurora Ventures' investment.

The launch of Aurora Ventures was carried out after the successful implementation of the Aurora Tech Award 2026 in Santiago, Chile. This year, the event recorded a record of more than 3,400 applicants from various countries. One of the founders from Nigeria, Adeola Ayoola-Famasi, managed to enter the top 10 finalists.

In addition to Adeola, the list of Aurora Tech Award 2026 finalists is also filled with female founders from various developing countries, including Adriana Gonzalez-Tizo (Panama), Angela Acosta-Morado (Colombia), Catalina Isaza from Innmetec (Colombia), Estefania Abello from Muta (Colombia), Maria Kawas from Domestik (Chile), Mariana Zuliani from OncoAI (Brazil), Mercedes Bidart from Quipu (Colombia), Patricia Florencia from Pilou (Mexico), and Penny Musengi from Pesira Technologies (Kenya).

Aurora Ventures was formed based on data and experience during the five years of holding the Aurora Tech Award which showed the still large gap in access to funding for female founders, especially in the Middle East & North Africa, Africa, and Latin America regions. Although many female startups show strong and efficient business growth, they are still often undervalued and receive less attention from traditional investors.

Aurora's latest research, which involved more than 900 founders from 127 countries, also found that female founders still face challenges in the form of "competence scepticism" or doubts about their abilities, as well as higher business achievement demands.

Through Aurora Ventures, this program will provide investments of US$ 180 thousand to US$ 250 thousand in the initial development stage and initial funding of startups. In addition to funding, Aurora Ventures also provides network access, mentoring, and operational support to help startups grow to the next funding stage with more equal opportunities.

Rio Aristo, Country Manager inDrive Indonesia, said that support for Aurora Ventures is in line with inDrive's commitment to promoting fairer access and opportunities for all parties, including female founders in emerging markets.

"inDrive was born and developed by facing various major challenges in the industry. We see the same spirit that many female founders in emerging markets today also have. Therefore, support for Aurora Ventures is not only about social initiatives, but also about opening up big opportunities that have not received much attention so far," said Rio, in a statement, Tuesday, June 9.

The Aurora Ventures 2026 pilot program will focus on building an initial portfolio while strengthening the foundation for a larger venture capital funding structure in the future.

Since its first appearance in 2021, the Aurora Tech Award has become a platform for female technology founders from 127 countries to gain access to funding, global networks, and business development opportunities. This program is part of inDrive's efforts to support innovation and empower communities in various developing countries.