Women Who Fund and Found
Join us at the Startup Nights as we build connections between women founders from exciting markets in middle-income countries and Switzerland .
The main organizer of this event-within-event is the Swiss Entrepreneurship Program (Swiss EP), initiated by Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and implemented by Swisscontact and J.E. Austin Associates.
Since 2015, Swiss EP has supported startup ecosystem development, entrepreneurial and institutional capacity building, access to finance and internationalization across seven SECO partner countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Peru, Serbia and Vietnam. Through this work, Swiss EP has helped strengthen ecosystems, accelerate startups, create jobs and foster innovation.
Along the way, we have had the opportunity to meet and support some of the most ambitious women founders in these markets. They are building companies, creating jobs and bringing new perspectives and solutions at scale to both local and global challenges.
Some of these founders will join us at the Swiss EP event during Startup Nights in Winterthur.
🌟 What to Expect?
🚀 Startup intro and quick pitches - to get to know our guests
🔥 Quick fireside chat - to learn more about financing startups in middle-income countries
💬 Networking - to get the conversations started
🎯 Why Attend?
Meet inspiring women founders, investors and startup ecosystem builders
Connect with people from outside the Swiss startup ecosystem
Expand your network
Discover opportunities beyond the markets and networks you already know.
👥 Who Should Join?
Angel Investors, VCs, and Family Offices
Swiss and international startup ecosystem representatives
Other experts linked to startup and Innovation-focused initiatives
✨ Featured Funders and Founders
They bring experience from different markets, industries and startup ecosystems, offering new perspectives and opportunities to connect.
🚀 Startup founders:
Ajla Ličina (AIsthesis, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Phu Nguyen (Affina, Viet Nam)
Antigoni Kourou (NEKOD, Albania)
Ganimete Arifaj-Canolli (PrimEx, Kosovo)
Jelena Milovanović (Bioeridan, Serbia)
Jacqueline Cruz (Qolores, Peru)
💰 Startup funders:
Sabina Selvić Oručević (BHBAN, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Eli Zhabevska (South Central Ventures, North Macedonia)
Paloma Aparicio (PECAP, Peru)
The event brings together founders, investors, entrepreneurs, ecosystem builders and other stakeholders from Switzerland and Swiss EP countries for an afternoon of exchange, discovery and meaningful connections.
❗IMPORTANT NOTE: All our guests will receive complimentary tickets to the Startup Nights event and can attend the entire program on November 5th and November 6th.
More details coming soon.