After reviewing more than 340 applications from women entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs in Europe and Africa, the Margaret Prize jury met to select the four 2020 Margaret Prize winners. They will be announced to the public on April 21 during the 8th edition of JFD Europe (Maison de la Radio, Paris).
As part of the JFD's acceleration program, this year for the first time, the winners will receive funding and support to accelerate their growth, worth a total of €1 million.
The JFD's Prix les Margaret rewards the creativity, innovation, and audacity of women in digital technology, in the image of Margaret Hamilton, the famous NASA computer scientist who contributed to man's first steps on the moon, after whom the prize is named.
The Margaret Award's first foray into Europe was a success, with more than 30% of applications coming from Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Romania, and Finland. In total, 28 European countries were represented.
The nominees in the European Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 category are:
- Delphine Groll, co-founder of Nabla, a personalized, continuous, and preventive healthcare service accessible to all thanks to machine learning. FRANCE
- Aline Muylaert, co-founder of Citizen Lab, a ready-to-use citizen consultation platform for local authorities. BELGIUM
- Clémentine Piazza, founder of inMemori, FRANCE
The nominees in the Intrapreneur of the Year 2020 category are:
- Claire Le Louët, Head of Business Acceleration, Total Marketing & Services, for Optimizer, dedicated to extraction sites for the control and optimization of their energy consumption. FRANCE
- Gwenaelle Thebault, Deputy CEO, Marie Claire Group, for Stylist, a magazine that breaks with the traditional codes of women's magazines and promotes a progressive and iconoclastic vision of society. FRANCE
- Karen Vernet, Director of E-commerce Development at Printemps.com, for her new e-commerce site Luxe-Créateurs, with a new inclusive, caring, and borderless approach. FRANCE
Female talent from Africa was also well represented, with the majority of projects submitted coming from the continent: South Africa, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Rwanda, etc.
The nominees in the African Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 category are:
- Hanae Bezad, CEO of Douar Tech, MOROCCO
- Nneka Mobisson, co-founder of mDoc Healthcare, a social enterprise that aims to significantly reduce the burden of chronic diseases in sub-Saharan Africa by providing patients with integrated care support through mobile and internet platforms. NIGERIA
- Jacqueline Mukarukundo, co-founder of Wastezon, a mobile app that connects households and recycling industries to process waste in an environmentally friendly way. RWANDA
The nominees in the 2020 Africa Intrapreneur of the Year category are:
- Vanessa Moungar, Director of the Gender, Women and Civil Society Department at the African Development Bank, for the Global Gender Summit, which aims to share best practices and catalyze investments to accelerate progress on gender equality and women's empowerment in Africa and around the world. IVORY COAST
- Fatim Niang Niox, Executive Director of Jokkolabs, a professional shared workspace with a community atmosphere. SENEGAL
"Helping to bring out the next generation of digital champions in Europe and Africa has been JFD's mission for the past eight years. We are delighted to see such strong interest in the award. The 2020 Margaret Awards received more than 340 applications from Europe and Africa, as well as from all regions of France. This represents a more than 70% increase in applications since 2019," said Delphine Remy-Boutang, CEO of the Bureau & JFD, President of GEN France.
Read also: Interview with Delphine Remy-Boutang, co-founder of Journée de la Femme Digitale
A jury of experts chaired by Delphine Remy-Boutang, composed of:
Maryline Baumard, editor-in-chief of Le Monde Afrique, Isabelle Chaillou, head of the economics and social affairs department at Franceinfo, Bernard Giry, digital innovation and research advisor for the Ile-de-France region, Raphaël Goumain, marketing director at Google France, Ann Massal, SVP Digital Corporate at L'Oréal, Alexandra Mauraisin, Brand Director at La Poste Group, Cathy Mauzaize, Director of Key Accounts at Microsoft, Morgane Miel, Deputy Editor-in-Chief at Madame Figaro,Morin Oluwole, Global Head of Luxury at Facebook, Caroline Ramade, Founder of 50 in Tech, Anaïs Richardin, Editorial Director at Maddyness, Sinatou Saka, Journalist and Editorial Project Manager for RFI and France 24, Karim Sy, President of Digital Africa, Magali Theveniault-Prevet, Business Platform Owner at Banque des Territoires, part of the Caisse des Dépôts group, and Mohammed Traoré, Digital and Innovation Advisor to Her Excellency Louise Mushikiwabo, Secretary General of La Francophonie.
Read also: Digital Women's Day: a new edition organized in 2020
Press release