F-LANE, the first accelerator empowering women in the tech sector, initiated by the Vodafone Institute, is entering its fourth round this year after great international feedback.
The programme mission is to foster the participation of women in technological development and to empower women of all ages around the world through technology.
F-LANE collaborates with the Impact Hub Berlin and the Social Entrepreneurship Akademie to globally source innovative startups that focus on women, provide an enterprising solution to a social problem and have the potential to make a wide impact.
Dupsy Abiola, start-up founder and former CEO of Intern Avenue, one of the world’s most successful platforms for the placement of interns in companies, is a member of F-LANE’s international Advisory Board.
As a member of the F-LANE advisory board, Dupsy Abiola and her Advisory Board colleagues will be selecting the young entrepreneurs for the F-LANE accelerator and supporting them throughout the programme with their expertise.
The advisory board consists of a total of eight influential members of the impact investment and (social) entrepreneurship scene, including Andy Goldstein, Co-Founder of the LMU Entrepreneurship Center, Mariéme Jamme, CEO of Spotone Global Solutions, and Lisa Witter, Co-Founder and CEO of apolitical.
The selection criteria for the F-LANE start-ups are proof of a more-than-profit model, a measurable impact of the start-up idea as well as a focus on technologies and female empowerment.
Inger Paus, Managing Director of the Vodafone Institute on the motivation to launch a worldwide accelerator programme:
“Women are still underrepresented in the technology sector. Only 17 per cent of technology start-ups worldwide are founded by women. In Europe, the number is even lower at 15%. With F-LANE we want to change that and thus contribute to more diversity in the development of new technologies.
At the same time, it is important for us to promote start-ups that want to solve a social issue. Our mission is to give women the tools that they need to realize their potential and revolutionize the sector.”
The online application process for the 7-week accelerator programme starting 4 October 2019 in Berlin is now open. Applications can be submitted to www.f-lane.com/online-application until 7 June 2019.