What an evening! The grand finale of the Female Founders Contest (FFC) 2026 at the Waschhaus Arena in Potsdam once again demonstrated the incredible potential within the German female founder scene. Twelve outstanding female founders from twelve regions came together to pitch in front of investors, our top-class jury, and a full house. The common goal: more visibility and a bigger stage for female-led startups.
The festive kickoff featured welcoming words from Anna Wanderwitz (BACB Board), Wiebke Heusermann (Head of Hamburg Investors Network), Sebastian Saule (Managing Director WFBB), and Noosha Aubel, Mayor of the State Capital Potsdam. Then it was time to clear the stage! In thrilling pitch blocks and intense Q&A sessions, the startups Conformally, Gizil, Tekoha, exæere, CatMedica, Enviotech, Neuramancer, Alithea Bio, iqonic, LIGARO, meliodays, and Insellar presented their innovative business models.
Between the pitches, an inspiring keynote by Cordula Weimann and a powerful impulse by Eve Büchner provided further highlights. The latter also presented the Female Science Award (endowed with €3,500), sponsored by quantumR, to Selina Greuel of Insellar.
The Radiant Winners of the Evening A very special moment was the announcement of the €25,000 investment by the Berlin Angel Fund (BAF). Steffen Seifarth presented it to Simone Sabbione from meliodays, who convinced everyone with MelioOne®, a hormone-free, intrauterine therapy against menstrual pain. But that wasn’t all: with 21% of all votes, Simone Sabbione also secured the Audience Award, endowed with an additional €2,700 (gathered from ticket sales and voluntary contributions).
This year, the Jury Award went to Mainz: Anne Vallersnes and Priv.-Doz. Dr. med. Yasemin Tanyildizi of CatMedicawere thrilled to receive €2,500 in prize money from Berliner Volksbank eG and €1,000 from encourageventures e.V. With this, not only the coveted FFC challenge cup travels to Mainz, but also the right to host the Germany Finale in 2027!
After the emotional award ceremony, the event seamlessly transitioned into the #FemaleFireworks aftershow party. We ended the evening with great music and valuable networking conversations.
A huge thank you goes to our charming moderator Katerina Bychkov, the jury, all sponsors and partners—especially the City of Potsdam, WFBB, Berliner Volksbank, Hamburg Investors Network, and the BACB team. And of course: Thank you to all the spectators on site and in the livestream. Without you, this event would not have been possible!
Did you miss the finale? Watch the highlights in the video now:
Here are all the photos from FFC Finale made by Elvina Kulinicenko: Photo Gallery FFC Finale 2026
