The Founder Institute, the world's premier startup launch program, is committed to narrowing the gender gap in high-tech startups with our Female Founder Fellowship program.
In 2011, we introduced the Female Founder Fellowship program, providing the opportunity for all females to apply to the Founder Institute for free ($50 value), while also awarding a full reimbursement of Course Fees to our best female applicant in each city, a $699 USD value.
Since introducing the program, our overall number of female-founded companies has more than doubled, to a total of approximately 32%. This is significantly higher than most other startup accelerators - but there is still plenty of work to be done. In all, over 3,750 female-led businesses have graduated from the Founder Institute, including notable companies from across the globe like Realty Mogul, Feetz, Wedding Party (acquired by Instacart), Tapgenes, Skimble, Memetales, Kindara, Enerknol, Rushtix, Cashtivity, Whizmeal, 2RedBeans, GreenKidCrafts, Uplifter, and many more.
The Female Founder Fellowship for the Belo Horizonte - Brasil Winter 2026 Founder Institute is now available, but to be eligible you must apply and enroll by the Early Admissions Deadline (jul 28, 2026).
The recipient of the Belo Horizonte Female Founder Fellowship will be recognized as a promising female entrepreneur with the utmost potential to become a successful technology founder. Not only will they gain acceptance into the prestigious Founder Institute entrepreneur training and startup launch program, but also they will also be fully reimbursed for their Course Fee.
I want to see a point in the not too distant future where 50% of all the new startups are founded by women or have women in the founding team" - Adeo Ressi, Founder & CEO of the Founder Institute
