On November 26th 2024, we had the pleasure of organising the 9th edition of the Women Founders Conference at the House of Startups. During the event, we welcomed four inspiring women entrepreneurs, to share their experiences and challenges in their field of expertise, during a panel discussion. This event is supported by Ministère de l’Égalité des genres et de la Diversité (MEGA), House of Startups Luxembourg, in cooperation with Women In Tech Global. The full-house event gathered 90 participants.
The panel, moderated by Marina Andrieu, director and co-founder of WIDE ANDCO, included Genna Elvin, a pioneer in the technology industry, co-founder and Chief Tada Officer of Tadaweb, Leesa Soulodre founder of Planeet43 and managing general partner at R3I Capital and Applied AI Investor, Amal Tawakuli, PhD in computer science and co-founder and CTO at Algora and Reyhaneh Niknejad co-founder and Head of Business Development of Elora. This interesting panel of women from varied backgrounds led to an authentic conversation about the ups and downs they encountered along their – sometimes unconventional- professional paths.
The discussion was a mix of personal experiences and about the perceived support for women entrepreneurs in the luxembourgish ecosystem. They discussed challenges in securing investments for female-led businesses, what it is like to evolve from a startup to an established company, and the risks and opportunities linked to the development of AI in particular gender biases in the new technologies.
In addition to this, Reynaheh spoke about her experience as a non-tech co-founder and looked back on her experience of the Fit 4 Start selection process. Amal, for her part, shared the challenges she encountered on her journey from STEM researcher to entrepreneur.
To conclude the panel, the speakers offered valuable advice for aspiring female entrepreneurs. Genna Elvin said not to forget that launching a startup is not for the faint of heart and that it is key to be surrounded by a great team. Leesa Soulodre. advised to take a leap of faith and to go all in. Reyhaneh Niknejad encouraged resilience and persistence, emphasising the importance of staying committed even on tough days. Amal Tawakuli insisted on the need to read and comprehend contracts completely before signing them.
Marina Andrieu highlighted a critical issue: “The number of women-led startups getting funded in Luxembourg is extremely low. The situation has not changed much in 10 years despite visibility given to a few founders, who often struggle and face gender-related barriers. I am very worried that we are still unable to build a talent pipeline and adequately support talented women willing to start a venture.”
After the panel discussion, WIDE ANDCO announced a new ”call for projects” to be sent to their Impact Web Studio. Through this initiative, WIDE ANDCO is offering help to beginner entrepreneurs in designing and co-financing their first Minimum Viable Products.
