Here they are, the 3 winners of the 2026 Aurora Tech Award.
From 3,400 applications across 127 countries, these three bold women founders rose to the top.
1st place — Mercedes Bidart
@mercedesbidart (Colombia): Quipu
@quipulatam is an AI-powered fintech giving credit access to unbanked micro-businesses in Latin America, $50,000 (and we’re happy your family was there to celebrate it together with you!)
2nd place — Penny Musengi (Kenya): Pesira
@pesira_technologies is a company that digitizes agriculture and brings financial inclusion to farmers and agribusinesses across the Global South, $30,000
3rd place — Estefanía Abello
@estefaniaabello (Colombia): MUTA
@mutaworld is an all-in-one platform helping recycling companies digitize operations and scale sustainably, $20,000
Thank you to Arsen Tomsky
@arsentomsky , Founder of inDrive
@indrive , Valentina Papic Ponce, Director of Expansion at Start-Up Chile
@startup_chile , and Helena Haykin
@helenhaykin , Partner & Head of Legal M&A at inDrive, for the honour of presenting the awards.
Also props to the teams we worked with:
Aurora team: Bella Ghassemi-Smith, Tamara Loseva, Kseniia Matveeva, Anastassiya Dmitriyeva, Sima Piterskaia, Yerkezhan Shaldybayeva, Nadeen Hossam, Nazya Temirkhanova, Alyona Khon, Yana Starr, Daria Khoroshikh, Nurdaulet Turar, Veronika Mokhnachevskaia;
InDrive team: Jorge Rincón Torres , Javier Silva, Xeniya Verba, Liza Novikova, Kanat Nogoibayev
Chilean partners: Santo B
@massantomasb and PARLA
@parlacoms teams, Stefanie Vogt, Bernardita Ibieta García
@bernarditaibieta , Andrea Figueroa, Carmen Dussaillant
@carmen_dussaillant , and Sebastián Jordana Steinsapir
Congratulations to the boldest founders of 2026. You showed up, you pitched, you owned that stage. Every finalist in this cohort is building something that matters in emerging markets. Aurora brought capital, connections, and community, and we know that over these days, all three showed up for real.
And a huge thank you to our exceptional judges for their thoughtful decisions.
P.S.: Aurora is now an investor. And so Applications to Aurora Ventures are officially open. Link in bio.
#2026AuroraCeremony