WASHINGTON, D.C. – July 8th, 2026 – Vital Voices Global Partnership is thrilled to announce the launch of VV Venture – AI for Impact, a 6-month global program designed for purpose-driven women entrepreneurs to advance their leadership and AI knowledge.
The program brings together 35 women social entrepreneurs across 29 countries who are leveraging innovation and technology to address pressing social and economic challenges. Through the program, participants will engage in a structured virtual learning experience from June through December 2026, featuring bi-weekly sessions and peer exchanges designed to support collaboration, experimentation and shared learning.
“The inaugural VV Venture — AI for Impact cohort brings together an extraordinary group of women leaders who are not only confronting some of the most urgent challenges of our time, but boldly reinventing how we solve them,” said Alyse Nelson, President and CEO of Vital Voices. “At Vital Voices, we see women as natural leaders in the age of AI—driven by curiosity, grounded in lived experience, and uniquely positioned to ask the questions that will shape technology in more inclusive, ethical, and human-centered ways. Over the next six months, they will push boundaries, experiment, and learn to harness the power of AI to strengthen their enterprises, deepen their impact, and unlock new possibilities for transformative change on a global scale.”
The curriculum also draws from the Vital Voices Leadership Journey (VVLJ), a leadership framework developed from more than 25 years of experience supporting women leaders globally and includes specialized sessions on ethical AI integration, operational efficiency, customer engagement and decision-making. Upon completion, participants will join the Vital Voices Global Network of more than 49,000 global changemakers.
By investing in women entrepreneurs driving inclusive growth in their communities, Vital Voices remains committed to accelerating solutions that expand economic opportunity and social impact worldwide. The outstanding women leaders selected for the VV Venture 2026 cohort are as follows:
- Amaia Arranz, CEO, Ruby Cup, United Kingdom
- Andrieka Austin, Founder, Black Women in Grants, United States
- Anna Mazur, Founder and CEO, Happy Monday, Ukraine
- Bojana Kovac, Founder and CEO, Red Queen, Serbia
- Chiamaka Juliet Osueke, Founder and CEO, Jully Consult, Nigeria
- Claudia Castellanos, Co-Founder and CEO, Black Mamba Foods, Swaziland
- Deise Nicoletto, Founder, Impact Hub Brasília, Brazil
- Halina Drozd, CEO, AXIOS Accelerator, Poland
- Hanan Gewefel, Founder and Chairwoman, Women and Fetal Imaging, Egypt
- Huda Radhi, Director and Founder, Richmond Advisory Services/Kinderhaus App, Bahrain
- Huyen Tran Thi, Director, SIMPLE DECOR, Vietnam
- Iffat Zafar Aga, COO and Co-Founder, Sehat Kahani, Pakistan
- Jennifer Perez, Founder, Perez Personal Training and Parkinson’s Vitality Institute, United States
- Jessica Vettorazzi, Founder, Gelateria Tartufo, Guatemala
- Joy Niwomujuni, Co-Founder, Jubilee Health Services Limited, Uganda
- Judith Marera, CEO, Lanforce Energy, Zimbabwe
- Lana Cuthbertson, CEO and Founder, Areto Labs, Canada
- Lorna Salud II S. Bondoc, Founder and CXO, YOVEO Digital, Philippines
- Maryann Ogechukwu Okoli, Founder and CEO, Esomchi Foods, Nigeria
- Mashraka Mosharrof, Founder and CEO, Creative Connections, Bangladesh
- May June Kyaw Win, Founder and Chairwoman, Light Craft Co., Myanmar
- Montserrat Rodriguez Cotilla, CEO and Founder, Mar de Fondos Consultores, Mexico
- Mourine Okoth, Founder and CEO, Uchumi Reusable Sanitary, Kenya
- Nasra Awadhi, Co-Founder and COO, ShuleYetu Innovations, Tanzania
- Natalia Mykhaylova, Founder and CEO, WeavAir, Canada
- Omaira Saucedo Bendek, Co-Founder and CMO, tuGerente, Bolivia
- Patries Ramkaran, Founder and Managing Director, Ramkaran Contracting Services, Trinidad and Tobago
- R. Fandora, CEO, STEM Academy, Southeast Asia
- Sabreen Morsey, CEO and Founder, Farinas Marketing Services, Saudi Arabia
- Safaw Alhassan Ali, Founder, CEO and Creative Director, Saphaw Fashion Empire, Ghana
- Safiya Aliyu, General Manager and Co-Founder, Sosai Renewable Energies Company, Nigeria
- Teryn Sedillo, Founder, CEO and Dentist; Dignity Dental Services, Dignity Dental Network, Dignity Dental Shift; United States
- Uchenna Ibe, Founder and CEO, Ivy League Collections, Nigeria
- Vidya Subramanian, Founder, Vidya Subramanian Academy, India
- Zeinab Ismail, Co-Founder and Operations Manager, GARBALISER SAL, Lebanon
To learn more about the VV Venture Program, visit https://www.vitalvoices.org/program/vv-venture-ai-for-impact/ and follow the program on social media using the hashtag #VVVenture.
About Vital Voices Global Partnership
For nearly three decades, Vital Voices Global Partnership has been investing in women leaders solving the world’s greatest challenges. We are “venture catalysts,” identifying those with a bold vision for change and partnering with them to make that vision a reality. We scale and accelerate their impact through long-term investments to expand the skills, connections, capacity and visibility of women leaders.
Vital Voices provided early support for leaders who went on to become Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, U.S. Youth Poet Laureates, prime ministers and breakthrough social entrepreneurs. Since its founding in 1997, Vital Voices has directly supported more than 49,000 women changemakers across 195 countries and built the most powerful global network of women leaders who are daring to reimagine a more equitable world for all.