inDrive launches Aurora Ventures to back women founders in emerging markets

KATHMANDU: inDrive has launched Aurora Ventures, an early-stage investment programme aimed at closing the funding gap for women founders in emerging markets, including Nepal and South Asia.

The announcement follows the 2026 Aurora Tech Award in Santiago, Chile, where women founders from emerging markets were selected among the top 10 finalists from a record 3,400 applicants, up from 116 in 2021. The 2026 finalists include Adeola Ayoola-Famasi (Nigeria), Adriana Gonzalez-Tizo (Panama), Angela Acosta-Morado (Colombia), Catalina Isaza (Innmetec, Colombia), Estefania Abello (Muta, Colombia), Maria Kawas (DomestikCo, Chile), Mariana Zuliani (OncoAI, Brazil), Mercedes Bidart (Quipu, Colombia), Patricia Florencia (Pilou, Mexico) and Penny Musengi (Pesira Technologies, Kenya).

Aurora Ventures will draw on five years of Aurora Tech Award data to source investment opportunities. The programme aims to address market inefficiencies that leave high-traction, high-growth businesses led by women in MENA, Africa, Latin America and emerging Asian markets undervalued by traditional venture capital.

A new Aurora study of more than 900 founders across 127 countries found that women founders face systemic 'competence scepticism' and are held to higher traction standards. The research identified the Asia-Pacific region as among the most affected by distorted outcome evaluation in venture funding, highlighting structural barriers across emerging Asian economies, including India and South Asia.

The programme plans to invest $180,000–$250,000 at the pre-seed and seed stages and will use the Aurora Tech Award network to identify companies before valuations fully reflect their performance. The 2026 pilot will focus on building an initial portfolio and generating a track record to support a future transition into a formal GP/LP fund structure.

Isabella Ghassemi-Smith, Head of Aurora Ventures, said the initiative is a disciplined investment programme based on the conviction that women founders represent a major overlooked opportunity in venture capital. "Over the past five years, we have seen a repeating pattern: exceptional women building rigorous businesses but reaching institutional capital later and on worse terms than their performance justifies," she said. Ghassemi-Smith added that the success stories among the top 10 finalists demonstrate the calibre of startups the programme intends to back.

Andries Smit, Chief Growth Businesses Officer at inDrive, linked the move to the company’s own growth story. "We built inDrive against all odds, competing against better-funded incumbents. We see the same thing playing out with women founders in emerging markets today. Backing Aurora Ventures is not charity; it is the same bet we made on ourselves," he said.

inDrive said Aurora Ventures will provide capital, network access and operational guidance to help portfolio companies reach subsequent funding rounds on more equitable terms. The Aurora Tech Award, powered by inDrive, has supported women founders in 127 countries since 2021, and inDrive noted its app has been downloaded more than 400 million times and operates in over 1,100 cities across 48 countries.