International Women’s Day is the perfect occasion to celebrate diversity, female leadership and entrepreneurship – and EIT InnoEnergy Master School has many fantastic examples of female graduates who embody these traits. Meet three inspiring women who run their own start-ups, fight for what they believe in, and make it easier for female entrepreneurs to follow in their footsteps:
Alba Forns – Chief Strategist, Chief Climate Officer & Co-Founder at Climatize
A project that began in her first year of the MSc in Renewable Energy (entering the ESADE eWorks accelerator programme in 2020) has evolved into Climatize – a climate FinTech mobile app specialising in connecting climate-concerned individuals to impact investment opportunities. Alba shares how it works, “We use microfinance to empower the public to shift from neutral bystanders into active stakeholders, making every citizen a climate-conscious asset owner. Climatize invests the spare change from your everyday purchases into crowdfunding ClimateTech projects so you can earn money while protecting the environment. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, there needs to be an incremental increase of 34 % of investment between 2021 and 2050 if we want to keep the temperature increase below 1.5 °C. Our main goal is to cover that gap by making every transaction an investment in climate action.” Alba adds, “Both EIT InnoEnergy and ESADE have been very supportive and provided invaluable connections within the industry. It’s empowering to make fighting climate change easier than ever before – and being able to align my values with my job means the world to me.”
Laura Laringe – Co-founder u0026 Operations Director at ReLi
With a mission to reduce the waste of batteries from electric vehicles while providing more accessible and reliable energy storage solutions to homeowners – Laura co-founded ReLi with two other students during her time in the MSc in Smart Electrical Networks and Systems programme Their idea went on to win the first edition of the Battle of Green Talent, a start-up competition by EIT InnoEnergy that gave them access to incubation services. She shares, “We make more sustainable and affordable energy storage solutions for residential buildings with solar panels by refurbishing batteries from electric vehicles.” As for running a start-up, Laura says,” My position requires me to wear many hats, from management and business development to sales and marketing. I love that I get to work and learn different things as the start-up evolves. We’ve been very supported by EIT InnoEnergy – and provided with an excellent technical education in top universities that also taught me about business and entrepreneurship. This opportunity helped me understand my career goals and interests and brought me to where I am today.”
Mackenzie Banker – Co-founder u0026 CEO of Verdantips
The Verdantips team of three dynamic women met in Stockholm during their MSc in Energy for Smart Cities programme, where they learned that combating climate change requires government, corporate, and individual action. Mackenzie explains, “Yet as we began to change our lifestyle to minimise our environmental impact, we realised how inconvenient it can be. Where can I find organic produce? Restaurants who aren’t using plastic take-out containers? Local clothing brands using recycled materials? So, we created a platform that facilitates eco-living and conscious consumption by aggregating businesses, products, and activities that are better for the environment into one place.” When asked how the start-up evolved, she shares: “The Innovation & Entrepreneurship Journey helped me learn the first steps for getting a start-up going. We were able to validate our idea and develop our business plan thanks to the mentorship and workshops available through the programme!”
Inspiring words
The struggle and success of women’s equality belongs not to one strong female but all. As these strong, entrepreneurial women continue to lead the charge in their chosen fields – they shine a light for others to follow. Mackenzie says, “Keep breaking those glass ceilings! Believe in yourself and raise your voice – and be sure to lift the women around you as well.” Laura shares, “As women and leaders in this field, we often face unique challenges and obstacles that men do not. However, we can offer valuable insights and perspectives that are often missing from traditional leadership roles.” Alba adds, “We need to keep pushing and fighting for more gender and culturally diverse representation in the workplace, and I’ve seen a huge improvement! I have met amazing women who are out there right now disrupting the energy sector.”
If you’re ready to cause a little disruption yourself, check out our EIT InnoEnergy Master School programmes here!