Gayani De Alwis FCILT’s Post

Based on our just ended event at the 79th Science Summit of the United Nations, here are General advices from our incredible speakers: Glory Oguegbu , Norah Magero , and Ndiarka Mbodji for women in #cleantech who are considering to start working on and implementing a project: 🎯Clarify your #purpose: Before you start, be absolutely clear on why you are doing what you do. 🎯Just start: Don’t wait for #resources to begin. Start working and implementing your ideas, and the resources will come. 🎯Stay committed: Once you begin, no matter how slow your progress may seem, remain persistent and keep moving forward. Small incremental steps are important in #growing. 🎯Plan for funding: Develop a #strategy for securing funding and apply whenever possible. 🎯Persevere through challenges: Whether you have funding or not, #entrepreneurship can be tough. Keep pushing forward. 🎯Enjoy the journey: It may be long, but it will be a #rewarding experience 🎯Partner, network and collaborate with other #organizations or #companies #womenintech #unitednations #capawic #innovations #sustainability #climatechange

Investment disparities faced by women-led companies and funds are undeniable. It's an issue that must be addressed. The Gender Gap in Investments project aims to address this problem by establishing a standardized methodology for data collection, helping policymakers better understand and close the gender investment gap. Starting September 2024, local events will be held across 10 European countries to foster collaboration and gather insights. The opening event will take place in Brussels – and you're invited, too!   When? September 24, 2024 Where? Brussels, Belgium Application deadline: September 18, 2024 12:00 (CEST) This effort is key to driving meaningful change and promoting gender equity in European investments. Register for the event – link in the comments! Yours, EurA AG, Hello Tomorrow, Tech Tour, EuroQuity - Bpifrance, IESE Business School, Webrazzi / Tech.eu and the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) Gilles Le Cocguen; William Stevens; Teresa Cunha; Nicolette Komitska; Denitsa Nenkova; Yasemin Baran; Iva Tchetinova; Ricardo Greenfield; Valentin Marin; Etienne P.; Josemaria Siota; Alberto Garcia Picazo; Alizée Blanchin; Lucas MAURICE; Carmo Cupertino de Miranda; Oriana B.; Cristiana Gonçalves; Rute Mata João; Márcia Macieira; Irmak Acar; Julia Gifford; Krista Krumina

Did you know, while climate tech investment is booming, only 2% is allocated to women-led ventures? We need all the brightest minds focused and funded, if we are to avert the catastrophic impacts of the climate change and biodiversity crises. That's why Village Capital and the Visa Foundation set up Greentech Europe, an accelerator for women-led start-ups in Europe working on sustainability products. Now in its third year, the program has empowered over 135 women-led greentech start-ups and facilitated a cumulative investment of US 550K into more than 50 sustainability-focused start-ups. One interesting thing about this program is that the grant funding is distributed to the participants in different amounts, based on peer-evaluation. Research (link in the comments) has found that: 1. Entrepreneurs accurately evaluate the future commercial success of their peers 2. Peer selection mitigates negative gender bias 3. Peer selection could be more effective at identifying future revenue performance, particularly for female-founded companies I'm pleased to be able to support these inspiring founders as a mentor. Check out this video of some of the program alumni who met in London earlier this year. #GreenTech #ClimateTech #ImpactInvesting https://lnkd.in/d47BZSFe

I am feeling optimistic. This week I attended launch of The Gender Index 2024 report. It tracks and reveals progress and the challenges facing women. But this year was different. Now with the help of AI, it measures the number of female-led companies and their impact on the UK economy. AI-powered, it holds live data on more than 4m active UK companies and 8.8m directors, constantly refreshed, and always up-to-date. The latest report now includes new valuable indicators - ethnic minority female-led companies and the most represented (and under-represented) generations in entrepreneurship. This is gold for those of us who support a more equitable and diverse economy. That evening I was invited to a special event at the Estonian Embassy. Accelerate Estonia in partnership with Oxentia presented a live pitch featuring 7 finalist healthcare and sustainability startups. Some fantastic solutions that promised to fix big problems. Impressive, but there was a twist. The Estonian government is a model for progressive lateral thinking kind of government. A few years they introduced eResidency for entrepreneurs and now offer an online company set up in less time than it takes to read this. And the twist? Well each startup faced regulatory barriers. The Estonian government will suspend the barriers and work with them to trial their solution. If it succeeds they will change the regulations. Other governments wanting to champion innovation should learn from Estonia. Today I was a guest on Bloomsbury Radio’s The Business Show, hosted by Arif Zaman, to celebrate International Women’s Day. Arif’s guests were LCCI Businesswoman of the Year and marketing guru, Abby Ghafoor, and Johannesburg based sustainability pioneer and entrepreneur, Dr Gamuchirai Mutezo (PhD). Abby and Gamu both told their incredible stories about their entrepreneurial journeys, and how through graft and passion they have become leaders in their fields. Gamu left us with an African proverb. ‘When sleeping women wake, mountains move’. 

Explore the role of women in the growing green and clean tech sector. Prerna Sharma's article, 'Promoting Women's Participation in Green and Clean Tech Businesses,' examines global and Indian data, highlighting the disparity in funding for female-led ventures and the opportunities within this sector. Discover how government initiatives and the expanding start-up ecosystem are empowering women entrepreneurs to overcome challenges and drive sustainability. Read the full article to learn more. #WomenInTech #GreenTech #CleanTech #FemaleEntrepreneurs #Sustainability #GenderEquality #WomenInBusiness #Entrepreneurship #Innovation #DiversityAndInclusion https://lnkd.in/g_FxWCBH

WHERE DO STRONG WOMEN TAKE THE LEAD & SHAPE THE FUTURE FORWARD ? 🚀 Answer: For example here in Croatia ! Last week I had the honor & pleasure to attend the German-Croatian Economic Forum 2024. Together with Christian Hellbach (German Ambassador) & Damir Habijan (Minister of Economy) we discussed the impact of #technology & #digitalization and exchanged on #sustainability and the #economic development - not only for Croatia but also in the context of forecasts for Europe & the world. 👉 Key take out : While economic environment will still not allow to lazily lean back (will it ever ??) the overall climate is more inviting. This teams up also with also the economic survey 2024 (done by 118 companies in Croatia) in which ▶ 81% of respondents believe that the economic situation in Croatia is satisfactory or good ▶ 1/3 of respondents believe 2024 will be even better than the last ▶ Nearly all agree that the introduction of the euro and entry into the Schengen area have a very positive impact ▶ Realize as biggest risks of business a lack of skilled labor and high labor costs with the overall need that the state approaches the challenges of corruption, slowness of public administration and tax levies more swiftly. More details can be found here: https://lnkd.in/d56QdvCM At the economic forum for me the panel discussions were especially insightful : TOPIC : Competitiveness Thank you to Ante Renić (director VSB), @Kesimir Hlede (managing director Porsche-ebike) Hrvoje Balen (dean Algebra University) Martina Dalić (CEO Podravka) for the vivid & transparent insights and for sharing thoughts on talent creation/development, on administration (and potential burdens) on sustainability, on growth and innovation. 👉 Key take out : One can only be competitive if one offers what nobody else can/does & to deliver this one needs to take a sustainable marathon asking for extra energy to overcome burdens and to engage with talents and society. TOPIC 2 : AI in daily business So inspiring to see here in this truely future forward topic four strong women on stage ! Kudos to Marijana Jakovac (CEO Allianz), Anita Lacmanovic (CEO SAP) Medeja Loncar (CEO Siemens) & Dorotea Effenberger (CEO Tahograf) for sharing their perspective & experiences & how thez businesswise and personally drive towards AI usage ! 👉 Key take out : While one always has to be careful with data security AI is there & will be there - in all our future forward lives & all aspects - so it is up to us not shy away but to grasp & leverage the opportunities coming with it. For me personally : An excellent & inspiring event – super well orgamized & orchestrated by AHKKroatien, my compliments & congrats to Stefanie Ziska & Marjan Vucak. #economy #techology #digitalization #AI #competitiveness #future  

Recognition from your peers is so important and rewarding, so don't forget that the Cooperative Research Australia awards for innovation close on 14 June. Categories including (but not limited to): innovation, impact, commercialisation, Industry-Research Collaboration, and leadership. We also can't be what we can't see, so let's make sure we find amazing success stories in women, First Nations and other groups we often (unfortunately) don't see. #researchcollaboration #researchtranslation #scicomm #indigenousknowledge https://lnkd.in/gV9DD_zb

🎉 𝗗𝟰𝗗 𝗛𝘂𝗯: 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝟰 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻! Since its launch in December 2020, the Digital for Development (D4D) Hub has become a cornerstone of #TeamEurope's commitment to drive a 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻-𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 that leaves no one behind. 🌍 Together with the #EU and its Member States, the private sector, civil society and academia, the #D4DHub supports its global partners in building a secure and sustainable digital future. From promoting inclusive connectivity, to women's leadership in ICT and green innovation—we've achieved so much together. 👏 Here’s to four years of collaboration and impact—and many more to come! Watch this video to learn more about the D4D Hub 📽️ https://lnkd.in/e7GWUM_y Discover this initiative, part of #GlobalGateway ➡️ http://d4dhub.eu #D4DHubTurns4 #DigitalTransformation

♀ On International #WomenDay we celebrate the achievements and contributions of women entrepreneurs and researchers, who are driving innovation and making a positive impact on society. 🚀 From Euro-Funding Europe we want to highlight the #HorizonEurope and European Innovation Council (#EIC) concrete steps to actively promote and support women entrepreneurs and researchers. From prioritising women CEOs for Accelerator interviews to launching initiatives like #WomenTechEU and the #WomenLeadershipProgramme, the EIC is helping to level the playing field for women-led #startups. These efforts are paying off, as the EIC continues to outperform the market in supporting women-led initiatives: ▶ Almost 25% of companies funded by the #EICAccelerator were female-led, compared to just 1.8% for the overall industry, receiving €852 million ▶ The share of female-led #EICPathfinder projects also reached 24%, with over 30% of researchers being female. 🏃♀️ But we can't stop here. On International Women's Day, let's recommit to advancing #genderequality in all aspects of society, including #entrepreneurship and #innovation. And let's celebrate the inspiring women who are leading the way! 📎 Women TechEU: https://lnkd.in/eDr-rgkJ 📎 Women Leadership Programme: https://lnkd.in/eiJrvS3t WomenTechEU #IWD2024 #WomenInInnovation #womenday #diainternacionaldelamujer

According to the 2023 report by European Women in VC, impact as an investment qualifier and thesis is quickly gaining importance in Europe. Over one-third of the EUR 53b committed to European startups in 2023 where channeled towards at least one of the Sustainable Development Goals. Check out the entire report for more insights: https://lnkd.in/eTB3w448 👩🏻💻🧑🏿💻👨🏼💻♻️🌍✨ #sustainability #vc #impact #esg #sdg #vitoshamondayfacts