In the past few years, gender equality has become a very important topic in business. The venture capital ecosystem also brings attention to this topic. Although the situation is far from perfect, studies show that engaging more women in VC funds will bring value to the whole ecosystem, so changes are needed. Now, let’s meet 25 active women in VC funds across the CEE region.
Ewa Chronowska
Partner at Next Road Ventures, Poland
As a partner in Next Road Ventures, Ewa Chronowska is helping European early-stage startups to grow their business ideas. She is also an expert in the Polish National Centre for Research and Development where she can share her experience and contribute to the growth of the Polish market. Being present on the VC scene for over 10 years she has the inside look at the whole ecosystem, which helped her found and become the CEO of Vestbee, a matchmaking platform connecting startups and investors in the CEE region.
Veronika Pistyur
Partner at Oktogon Ventures, Hungary
Veronika Pistyur started her professional career producing television programs, running communications agencies and working in marketing, but now she is focused on the startup community, where she uses her diverse experience on a day-to-day basis. Currently, as a general partner in Oktogon Ventures, Veronika Pistyur is looking for high-growth tech startups from the CEE region. Additionally, since 2020, she has been a board member in Startup Hungary, an organization supporting the Hungarian startup community focusing on tech companies.
Elina Halatcheva
Managing Partner at BrightCap Ventures, Bulgaria
Elina gained her experience in investment banking and private equity in New York and London where she was an investor at Citigroup's private equity funds. She is a board member in WOOM and Enview. Since 2018 Elina Halatcheva has been a managing partner at BrightCap Ventures.
Tatjana Zabasu Mikuž
Managing Partner at South Central Ventures, Slovenia
Currently, Tatjana is a managing partner at South Central Ventures, an early-stage fund supporting tech companies in CEE and Western Balkans. She is also a co-founder and partner at RSG Capital and one of the founding members of European Women in VC. At the beginning of her professional career, Tatjana worked as head of the office in the Ministry of Economy of Slovenia where she helped Slovenian companies increase their competitiveness.
Kristīne Bērziņa
Founding Partner at Livonia Partners, Latvia
Kristīne gained her experience in strategy, transactions and operations management in the US, the UK, Denmark and Latvia. After working for PwC and IBM in New York and London she returned to Latvia where she started working as a corporate development director for Lattelecom and now is a co-founder of Livonia Partners.
Zlatolina Mukova
Managing Partner at New Vision 3, Bulgaria
Zlatolina Mukova has over 20 years of entrepreneurial and management experience. During her career, she had a chance to be a deputy minister in the Bulgarian Ministry of Transport and Communication. Now, she is a managing partner in New Vision 3 Fund where she supports early-stage tech startups. Moreover, Zlatolina Mukova is also a partner in NEVEQ Capital Partners, which manages two VC funds.
Diana Koziarska
Founding Partner at SMOK Ventures, Poland
The Polish startup & VC scene wouldn't be the same without Diana Koziarska. As an ambassador of Startup Poland, she constantly helps in building the Polish startup community. Moreover, she is a co-founder of the pre-acceleration program Reaktor X. She was singled out in Forbes 30 under 30 and named CESA Female Role Model of the Year 2018. Since 2019, Diana Koziarska is a founding partner in SMOK Ventures - Polish-American early-stage VC fund investing in digital and gaming companies.
Joanna Zielińska
Co-founder and CEO at Black Swan Fund, Poland
Joanna Zielinska has great experience in venture capital, private equity, and capital markets. In 2018 she co-founded Black Swan Fund where she is a CEO now. Additionally, Joanna Zielinska is also an IR officer in Capital Park, an investment company in the real estate market in Poland.
Silke Horáková
Co-Founder & Partner at Tilia Impact Ventures, Czech Republic
During her career, Silke Horakova managed to be the CEO of the Czech Private Equity & Venture Capital Association and a senior professional at the European Bank for Research and Development. Silke is also a co-founder of Albatros Media, the largest Czech book publishing company. Since 2017 she has been a partner in co-founded VC fund - Tilia Impact Ventures.
Viktoriya Tigipko
Founder and Managing Partner at TA Ventures, Ukraine
Viktoriya Tigipko understands the importance of supporting women in VC that is why in 2018 she founded WTECH - the first community in Ukraine for female tech CEOs. She is also a founder and managing partner at TA Ventures - VC fund investing in early-stage tech startups in Europe and North America. Another initiative supported by Viktoriya is ICLUB, a private investment club for angel investors founded by TA Ventures, where she is a president.
Nataliia Berezovska
Managing Partner at Detonate Ventures, Ukraine
Nataliia was gaining experience in founding and growing companies for over 15 years. She is a co-founder and a CEO of Detonate Ventures investing in seed and early-stage startups. Before that Nataliia was working in mass media, marketing and PR agencies.
Kinga Stanisławska
General Partner and Co-Founder in Experior Venture Fund, Poland
If you're familiar with Polish VC scene you have probably heard of Kinga Stanislawska. She has been active in the investment, banking, and finance sector for over 20 years. In 2013 Kinga Stanisławska co-founded Experior VC where she is the managing partner now, the fund is focused on data-driven CEE startups. As an investment committee member in EIC Fund, she also supports innovative companies in the EU and associated countries. She was a founder of the European Women in VC community, which aims to increase the number of female partners in European venture funds.
Marzena Bielecka
Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Experior Venture Fund, Poland
Marzena Bielecka gained her experience in managing companies and investment supervision in firms like BPH TFI SA, Celtic Property Developments SA, Polski Gaz SA, Polbank EFG SA, Ferrum SA. Now, she is a managing partner in co-founded VC fund - Experior Venture Fund. Additionally, Marzena also got involved in European Women in the VC community as a founding member and Polish Private Equity & Venture Capital Association where she is a board member.
Monika Synoradzka
Managing Partner at SpeedUp Venture Capital Group, Poland
Monika Synoradzka gained her experience in PR and Marketing in various Polish companies and organizations. She has been working in SpeedUp Venture Capital since 2012 and then in 2019 she became a managing partner. Monika is also a CEO in Huge Things, an accelerator that connects startups with business partners and is a part of SpeedUp VC.
Irina Dimitrova
Partner and CFO of LAUNCHub Ventures, Bulgaria
Irina Dimitrova has great experience in corporate finance and financial advisory, which she gained while working in investment banking in London and in Bulgaria for 10 years. Since 2012 she is a partner and CFO in LUNCHub Ventures - a fund that invests in SEE & CEE tech startups in the Seed and Series A funding stages. In the fund she is responsible for reporting, investor relations, monitoring the portfolio performance, and participating in the investment decision-making.
Beata Turlejska
Managing Partner at Leonarto, Poland
Beata has a Master degree in Finance and experience in Human Resource management as well as marketing. She has a great experience in building businesses and managing teams and processes for example in Pepsi or Nestle. Since 2017 she is a managing partner in Leonarto, a VC fund that focuses on technology companies.
Magdalena Surowiec
Managing Partner at Venture INC, Poland
Magdalena is currently working in Venture INC as managing partner. This VC fund has many years of experience in the development of projects in the field of new technologies. Their portfolio includes projects on different stages from the medtech, biotech, martech and fintech sectors. Before that she was managing partner in Leonarto for 4 years. She has years of experience in building business strategies and team building processes.
Jone Vaituleviciute
Partner at Startup Wise Guys, Latvia
Jone became a partner in Startup Wise Guys in 2019 after working there only for 2 years. Startup Wise Guys is mostly an accelerator program but also offers investment after selection to the program. Before that, she also worked in Invest Lithuania in the Investment Development Department where she was responsible for communication with investors, information accumulation, and strategic analysis in various investment projects.
Petra W. Končelíková
Founder & Partner at Nation 1 VC, Czech Republic
Petra has over 20 years of experience in the industry. She is a founder and partner in Nation 1, which is both a VC fund and accelerator. Petra is responsible for the acceleration program for startups, which takes place in different locations across the Czech Republic. She is also a co-owner responsible for business development & partnerships in Node5, a company focusing on startup founders and industry professionals which offers workspace and event venues and builds a community.
Andrea Ferancová Bartoňová
Founding Partner at Espira Investments, Czech Republic
Andrea is a well-known figure in the Czech Republic as she was singled out multiple times among the TOP 25 businesswomen in this country. She has over 20 years of experience in emerging markets and finance. Currently, she is a founding partner and a board member in Espira Investments. Before that, she was a co-owner and a managing partner in WOOD & Company - a leading investment bank in Central and Eastern Europe.
Emilia Mamajova
Founding Partner at Espira Investments, Czech Republic
Emilia Mamajova is a professional in private equity investment with over 15 years of experience. She has been working for PineBridge Investments CEE as a head of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Now she is a founding partner in Espira Investments and a board member in Czech Private Equity and Venture Capital Association.
Dagmara Nickel
Managing Partner & Founder at YouNick, Poland
Dagmara Nickel has over 20 years of experience in working in the Polish market. Since 1998 she has been responsible for managing family-owned company Nickel Development - one of the biggest real estate developer companies in Poland. She also launched a private technology part - YouNick - a place dedicated to technology businesses. Dagmara is a founder and a managing partner in YouNick Mint - VC fund focusing on life science, ICT and IoT startups. In 2010 she was awarded as “The One Who Changes Polish Industry''.
Iwona Cymerman
Managing Partner at FundingBox Deep Tech Fund, Poland
Iwona Cymerman is a former scientist and now a managing partner at FundingBox Deep Tech Fund. She started working as a project coordinator for FundingBox in 2017 and two years later took a role as a director of the Impact Poland Acceleration Program. Currently, Iwona is also a managing partner at FundingBox Deep Tech Fund. She has a broad knowledge of the startup community due to her past experience as a founder of a software startup herself. Iwona gained her experience also by working for Plug and Play as a recruiter for acceleration programs on the Polish market.
Anna Dymowska
Managing Partner at FundingBox Deep Tech Fund, Poland
Anna has been a partner and COO in FundingBox since the beginning of 2013. What is more, she became a partner in FundingBox Deep Tech Fund in 2020. Before that, she was chairman of the board in Econet Consultants. She is an experienced specialist in public funding and compliance.
Paulina Mazurek
Partner & CEO at Bitspiration Booster VC, Poland
Paulina Mazurek gained her experience in companies like Motorola, Google, and Allegro starting from an assistant role and becoming manager later on. Right now she is a partner and a CEO in Bitspiration Booster VC, a fund that focuses on seed and early-stage tech startups and her role is to advise in the acceleration program. Since 2016 she has been the CEO of BEIT - a company operating in the quantum computing industry.
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