Women in Action is the free and equity free acceleration programme for female-led sustainable realities conceived by Elga Corricelli and Layla Pavone with LifeGate Way, the innovation and investment hub of the LifeGate group. The programme is in its second edition and intends to replicate, with nine start-ups, the effective and productive work developed in the first edition with seven start-ups.
According to the Cribis report on female entrepreneurship, less than one company in five in Italy is led by a woman: 950,000 out of 5.2 million, 18% of the total, while, the report also notes, women at the helm of companies perform 8% more sustainably than men and have a pronounced sensitivity towards the environment.
With the aim of making a contribution to the dissemination of the culture of female entrepreneurship and training a mindset to bridge the gender gap in entrepreneurship and investment, the initiative is supported by Archiva Group, PwC Italy, University Box, SheTech, Women of Change Italia, Messe Frankfurt, Angels for Women, Cookies, Digital Innovation Days, Qonto, Underdogs, GS Loft and Factanza Media.
This year, the call will select nine realities from start-ups created by female founders or with a female majority shareholding, female entrepreneurs with start-up companies, and female students who, with their ideas, want to leave a mark of innovation in the field of environmental, social and individual sustainability.
From March to June 2025, the proposals selected on the basis of their uniqueness and value will gain access to a three-month acceleration programme in a hybrid format comprising 150 hours of training, mentorship and coaching on sustainability, business and communication. The lectures will be held by some of the best experts in the sector, including Simone Molteni, general partner of Primo LifeGate and scientific director of LifeGate, Vincenzo Tanania, innovation team director of PwC Italy, and Francesca Mudanò, creative director of Cookies Agency, and will alternate with events and networking moments such as the Celebration Day, a meeting opportunity designed to create an initial connection between companies and potential investors.
At the end of the course, the women entrepreneurs will have acquired the necessary tools to develop their business idea and will have developed a mindset geared towards the sustainable growth of their enterprise and will be able to refine a business model and enhance the human skills indispensable to emerge in the changing entrepreneurship ecosystem.
“Our aim is to bring women who have a sustainable business idea closer to the world of enterprise, providing a toolkit of useful hard & soft tools, in a context in which the incubation world is undergoing a strong transformation because on the one hand those who want to do business are more and more aware and on the other hand there are more and more players specialised in the sector,” says Elga Corricelli, co-founder and supervisor of the Women in Action programme (pictured), in a note. The project does not envisage the recognition of any form of equity by LifeGate Way for the best ideas selected: it offers the great opportunity for women of different ages and skills united by the desire to innovate in the field of sustainability to work side by side, fostering a continuous exchange of experience and knowledge. In addition, the co-construction of training, implementation and mentorship paths guarantees the activation of a valuable network and training of a transformative mindset that is essential as a founder and indispensable as an innovative contributor in organisations”.
“We wanted to include female students in our programme because we want to promote a new entrepreneurial culture from the earliest stages of their careers: we believe it is crucial to inspire and train the next generation so that they can develop a mindset geared towards sustainability and innovation. Through Women in Action, we want to offer young women with ambitious ideas the opportunity to confront themselves with established entrepreneurial realities and learn from concrete experiences, creating an inclusive ecosystem capable of stimulating change,” concludes Layla Pavone, co-founder of Women in Action.
With 120 applications, Women in Action has already supported 13 founders on their growth path. Last year, seven companies were accelerated with the involvement of over 200 professionals and the realisation of 3 events: So.De Social Delivery, which proposes an innovative home delivery model in Milan based on principles of solidarity and sustainability. Founded by Naima Comotti and Teresa De Martin, the startup also involves Lucia Borso, Silvia Boniardi, Elia Cipelletti and Francesco Purpura; Diamante, which develops cutting-edge therapeutic solutions for autoimmune diseases using nanotechnology and plant biotechnology. Conceived by Linda Avesani, the project has evolved thanks to the contribution of Roberta Zampieri and Valentina Garonzi; Empethy, a platform that facilitates dog and cat adoption and offers support to new pet owners through interactive tools and educational resources. Conceived by Annamaria Barbaro and Lorenza Silvestri, we told you about it earlier; AmicoWC, an innovative patent created by Giulia Vaccani, a mathematics and computer science teacher. This device guarantees a hygienically safe toilet seat without water or chemicals, meeting the needs of around 70,000 Italian paraplegics; GreenEats, an app that promotes plant-based nutrition and its benefits through nutritional check-ups with experts and a points system that rewards users. The startup is the brainchild of Simona Rotante; ladomus, an artificial intelligence-based platform that simplifies the restructuring process. Through co-design with the user, it offers accurate and immediate quotes, making renovation more accessible, affordable and sustainable; and Geen, a femtech that uses data analytics and artificial intelligence to provide women and non-binary people with fast and safe access to sexual and reproductive health services. The startup is the brainchild of Lucia Vernino and Giulia Marchese.
The deadline to apply for the 2025 edition of Women in Action is 14 February 2025.
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