This is the first stage of the Challenge in Europe, after highly successful stages in India and Africa
Marking this year’s International Women’s Day, global technology group Prosus, in partnership with Endeavor Romania, launched the Prosus Found-HER Challenge Romania, a selection program designed to support women-led start-ups, and awarding a total of EUR 100,000 in equity-free grants to Romanian women founders. The Prosus Found-HER Challenge Romania follows successful stages of the program in India and Africa over the past 12 months.
The Challenge is a high-impact selection program that plugs women founders into the global network of Prosus and the scaling expertise of Endeavor. All women founders from Romania are encouraged to submit their applications, between 09 March and 03 April 2026, with the winners announced at the Grand Finale on 28 May 2026.
Why does it matter?
Globally, less than 5% of venture capital flows to female-founded startups despite data showing that women-led companies deliver 35% higher return on investment. In Romania, while 38% of the entrepreneurs are women, boosting greater equality is necessary as the country still trails the European Union average for gender representation in business. Prosus and Endeavor Romania want to meet this challenge head-on with the first European edition of the Prosus Found-HER Challenge.
Prosus underscores its commitment to supporting the next generation of women entrepreneurs and contributing to a more balanced and resilient innovation ecosystem in Romania. With large investments in Romania’s digital economy, backing companies like eMAG, Sameday and OLX, Prosus has a long track record and solid confidence in the local market which has abundant pools of talent and innovative potential.
"Studies consistently show that women-led startups deliver higher returns on investment, yet access to capital remains a significant barrier for female entrepreneurs. That's why we set up the Prosus Found-HER Challenge - to address the funding challenge for women-led businesses,” says Prajna Khanna, Chief Sustainability Officer at Prosus. “The Prosus Found-HER Challenge has already found nearly 1,300 women founders across India and Africa, and we’re thrilled to expand this initiative to Europe with our partners Endeavor Romania. Through initiatives like this, we can empower the next generation of bold, pragmatic female founders that tackle the world's toughest challenges."
Endeavor Romania supports the launch of the Prosus Found-HER Challenge as part of its broader mission to help high-impact entrepreneurs scale and strengthen the local innovation ecosystem. Romania has a growing community of ambitious founders and strong technological talent, yet women entrepreneurs remain underrepresented in high-growth startups. Through this initiative, Endeavor Romania aims to help spotlight and support women founders building scalable businesses, while connecting them with the global networks, mentorship, and resources needed to accelerate their growth.
Reflecting on the importance of the initiative, Mihnea Crăciun, Managing Director of Endeavor Romania, said: “Across all ecosystems where Endeavor operates, we consistently see how powerful the multiplier effect of successful founders can be. Yet globally - and in Romania as well - women entrepreneurs still receive only a tiny fraction of the capital and visibility they deserve. Our mission is to help surface these founders, connect them with global networks, and ensure their stories and companies reach the scale they are capable of. We’re honored to team up with Prosus in their pursuit to promote amazing women-led businesses across emerging markets.”
Timelines
Starting 09 March until 03 April 2026, women founders are invited to apply to the challenge by completing this application form.
Selected founders will be invited to pitch at the Grand Finale event on 28 May 2026 in Bucharest, a high-level gathering that will serve as a powerful platform to showcase their ventures. Shortlisted contestants are recognised for their leadership and innovation on a global stage and will be exposed to Endeavor’s and Prosus’ worldwide ecosystem to help scale their impact.
The program recognises exceptional female founders and awards them with a share of an overall cash prize of EUR 100,000 to fuel their growth. The winners from the previous stages of the Prosus Found-HER Challenges in India and in Africa, were chosen from a group of almost 1,300 female-led startups. These exceptional female founders have shown that there is no limit to these women building world-leading companies that improve the lives of millions of people.
The Prosus Found-HER Romania Challenge is supported by high-profile investors, business leaders and entrepreneurs such as Iulian Stanciu (Executive Chairman, eMAG), Elisabeta Moraru (CEO, Google Romania), Victoria Zinchuk (Head of Romania, EBRD) and Vargha Moayed (Venture Partner, White Star Capital), who will act as jury members to select the most promising companies and innovators. Applications will be assessed based on innovation, market potential, scalability, and impact.
Who can apply
The Prosus Found-HER Challenge Romania is open to start-up leaders that:
- Have at least one Romanian woman founder in a leadership role (who will be the applicant)
- Are revenue-generating and demonstrate proven market traction
- Founders across all industries are welcomed to apply. While businesses leveraging technology and AI may be eligible for a special prize, this is not a mandatory criterion.
For more details about the Prosus Found-HER Challenge Romania and the full application process, interested founders are encouraged to visit the Prosus website or the Endeavor Romania website.
About Endeavor:
Endeavor Romania is part of Endeavor Global, a mission driven global and leading organization that supports and accelerates high-impact entrepreneurs by connecting them with talent, capital and a worldwide peer and mentor network.
Endeavor is a global organization that supports high-impact entrepreneurs by providing access to mentorship, strategic resources, and international markets. With a mission to drive economic growth and innovation, Endeavor selects and mentors entrepreneurs who have the potential to transform industries and create significant employment opportunities. Through its extensive network of business leaders and investors, Endeavor helps entrepreneurs scale their businesses and achieve long-term success.
To find out more, please visit https://romania.endeavor.org
About Prosus
Prosus is the power behind the world’s leading lifestyle ecommerce brands, across Europe, India, and Latin America, unlocking an AI-first world for our 2 billion customers.
The Prosus technology ecosystem spans food delivery, payments, classifieds, travel, events, and mobility. Our integrated approach enhances user engagement and creates the foundation for unprecedented AI capabilities through proprietary data and cross-service intelligence.
Through Prosus Ventures, we invest in companies which inspire and support the Prosus ecosystem. We search for new opportunities at the leading edge of AI and ecommerce, the digital AI workforce and in frontier technologies, such as robotics, drones and synbio.
The team actively backs exceptional entrepreneurs who are using technology to improve people’s everyday lives.
To find out more, please visit www.prosus.com.
