About European Female Founders
Helping women build
across Europe.
Building a Europe where women can start, grow and scale thriving companies.
European Female Founders (EFF) is a pan-European nonprofit organisation working to improve the conditions in which women build and grow businesses across Europe.
We bring together founders, business leaders and ecosystem partners to address the barriers that still limit women’s access to knowledge, networks and markets, and to bring the experience and perspective of women entrepreneurs into conversations about innovation, entrepreneurship and European competitiveness.
2022 to 2026
Milestones
Scroll sideways to walk through the moments that built EFF.
01
Why We Exist
Europe does not lack entrepreneurial talent. But access to the resources, knowledge and networks that help turn talent into successful companies remains uneven.
For women entrepreneurs, the challenge is particularly visible when it comes to funding, influential networks, mentorship and opportunities to grow across borders. These are not simply barriers for individual founders. They represent entrepreneurial and economic potential that Europe cannot afford to leave untapped.
EFF exists to help close that gap.
We believe women entrepreneurs should have the opportunity to build ambitious companies, reach new markets, connect with the wider ecosystem and participate fully in shaping Europe’s economic and innovation future.
02
What We Do
We connect women founders with experienced entrepreneurs, business leaders and ecosystem partners across Europe. Through events, learning opportunities, networking and European-level initiatives, we create access to knowledge, expertise and relationships that can help businesses grow and scale.
We also work to strengthen the position of women entrepreneurs within Europe’s wider innovation ecosystem, bringing their experience and perspective into discussions about access to finance, entrepreneurship, innovation and competitiveness.
Our ambition is not simply to build another network. It is to help create a stronger environment for women to build and scale companies.
03
Our Journey
European Female Founders began in Sofia in 2022, when women entrepreneurs from across all 27 EU Member States came together around three shared priorities: education, ecosystem and funding.
What started as a European gathering developed into an organisation active across borders, institutions and entrepreneurial communities.
From Sofia to Brussels, Helsinki and Cyprus, our journey reflects a growing ambition: to connect women entrepreneurs across Europe and ensure they have a stronger voice in the places where opportunities and policy are shaped.
04
Our Founding Members
Monika Stanisheva
Co-founder and President
Bulgarian entrepreneur and angel investor with more than three decades of experience in media, communications and business. Chair of the Board of Dir.bg, founder of the Organising Committee of the Green Transition Forum, and named by The Recursive among the 50 most influential women angel investors in CEE.
Teddy Slavcheva
Co-founder and Vice President
Impact and social entrepreneur working at the intersection of sustainability, innovation and gender equality. Co-founder of Sooo. Global Sustainability Media, founder of Women in Tech Norway and of Sustainability United, a global community of 5,000+ members.
Sabrina Malpede
Co-founder
Co-founder and Managing Director of ACT Blade Ltd and SMAR Azure Ltd, with nearly two decades designing innovative solutions in yachting and wind energy. Winner of the European Tech Woman Award (International Clean Energy) and the EIT Public Award.
Plamena Cherneva
Co-founder
IT consultant, entrepreneur and advocate for making tech more welcoming to women and minorities. Founder of WonderCoders NGO and the Nordic Women in Tech Awards, and co-organizer of European Female Founders with the European Commission.
Milena Stoycheva
Co-founder
Chair of the Innovation Council at the Bulgarian Ministry of Innovation and Growth and former Minister of Innovation and Growth. Long-standing Executive Director of JA Bulgaria and co-founder of The Edge: R&BD, she has taught innovation and entrepreneurship at EIT and received JA Worldwide's highest global leadership award.
Maria Fatima Lucas
Co-founder
CEO and co-founder of Zymvol Biomodeling in Barcelona, a biotech pioneer applying physics and AI hybrid computational chemistry to green chemistry, and CEO of OXYCO, The Enzyme Factory. A chemist with a PhD in quantum chemistry and winner of the 2020 EU Prize for Women Innovators.