Europe’s largest hackathon for women held in Stockholm

On Saturday and Sunday the venue of the Nobel Prize banquet, the Stockholm City Hall, was taken over by more than 800 female hackers in what became Europe’s biggest hackathon for women. The women gathered in Stockholm from all over the world, to bridge the gender gap in the tech industry and find solutions for a more gender equal society.

From Saturday night to Sunday night, 816 participants worked on ten different challenges presented by Stockholm companies and the City of Stockholm.

”It's fantastic that this weekend's hackathon in Stockholm broke the European record and that hundreds of women participated in the challenges. We work actively in the city to help more women be able to reach their full potential through education, jobs and entrepreneurship. The idea for this event was to engage more women who have ideas for today's and tomorrow's society. We especially enjoyed having so many international talents join the hackathon,” says Anna König Jerlmyr, Mayor of Stockholm.

The challenge presented by the City of Stockholm concerned closing the funding gap, to help more women entrepreneurs secure venture capital. Winner of the Stockholm challenge was Play Big, Win Bigger - an online role play, which simulates real scenarios for entrepreneurs who are preparing to pitch their business ideas to investors. The game will train women entrepreneurs to become aware of unconscious biases among investors.

The team behind the idea consists of game developers, entrepreneurs and management consultants.

“It is absolutely fantastic that we met for the first time yesterday and, with the great support of mentors and feedback from jury members, were able to create a concept that solves a pressing problem. An agreement is already in place with Impact Hub, one of the city's incubators, to test a pilot version with a selection of entrepreneurs and investors,” said team leader An Coppens Sunday night.

The winner of the City of Stockholm challenge will, in addition to the valuable network of jury members from the innovation ecosystem, receive coaching by Stockholm incubator STING. They will also get to have lunch with the Mayor of Stockholm.

About the hackathon and the overall winner
The Sthlm Tech Fest Hackathon for women was held for the first time in Stockholm 2019. The Best of Hackathon Award went to Lucy: Through an innovative and user-friendly app, women can learn about their sexual health. The app takes you through life and helps you get to know your body. It teaches you about masturbation, about finding back to your sexuality after pregnancy as well as supporting you and your sexual health during and after menopause. The innovation was created by The Case for Her - an innovative funding collaborative investing in early stage markets within women's and girls' health. 

About Invest Stockholm
Invest Stockholm is the official investment promotion agency of Stockholm. We work with the marketing and development of the Stockholm region as a business destination under the brand Stockholm – The Capital of Scandinavia. Invest Stockholm is a subsidiary of Stockholm Business Region, owned by the city of Stockholm.
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