Despite facing several challenges, such as financial obstacles, limited access to resources, and much more, women’s entrepreneurship is growing globally. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2023/24 Women’s Entrepreneurship Report: Reshaping Economies and Communities, one in ten women, compared to one in eight men, were starting new businesses in 2023.
The Netherlands has witnessed women’s startup rates more than double over the past two decades. This is evident in the city of Rotterdam, where women are leading innovative startups, creating sustainable businesses, and driving economic growth.
Rotterdam: A thriving hub for women-led startups
According to the SHELEADS+ Insights Report 2024, Rotterdam is among the top cities in the Netherlands for women (co-)founded companies, accounting for 8 per cent of the businesses.
The city provides women entrepreneurs with access to resources, mentorship, networking, and funding opportunities, and a vibrant ecosystem that encourages growth and collaboration.
Up!Rotterdam is one of the key stakeholders of the city’s entrepreneurial ecosystem that has been instrumental in making Rotterdam a level playing field for all entrepreneurs, irrespective of their gender.
Up!Rotterdam: Leveling the playing field
One of Up!Rotterdam’s key goal is to increase the number of female founders in the Rotterdam area. To this end, it works closely with over 60 co-creation partners to connect, strengthen, innovate, and provide access to a range of organisational programmes.
It includes Techleap, RVO (Netherlands Enterprise Agency), Innovation Quarter, Tech Advocates, Diverse Leaders in Tech, and Dutch New Narrative Lab, among others.
By enabling these partnerships, Up!Rotterdam ensures that female entrepreneurs receive a level playing field, find the requisite resources to grow their businesses, and join a community that encourages inclusivity, innovation, and sustainability.
Meet Rotterdam’s powerhouse female entrepreneurs
Women entrepreneurs in Rotterdam are making a significant impact across sectors like HR tech, sustainability, SaaS, and AI. They are not only developing innovative solutions to complex problems but also driving economic growth and strongly encouraging inclusivity and diversity.
To highlight their accomplishments and showcase their success stories, we have compiled a list of powerhouse female founders who are scaling Rotterdam’s innovation ecosystem.
Charlotte Melkert and Fleur Melkert
Co-Founders of Equalture
Charlotte Melkert is the CEO & Co-founder of Equalture, an HR tech scale-up dedicated to creating unbiased hiring practices by combining neuroscience and gamification.
She has always been passionate about combating unfairness and illogical systems. Despite her privileged upbringing, she transformed her conviction into action, co-founding Equalture with her sister Fleur Melkert to transform recruitment through the art of neuroscience and gamification.
She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, and pursued a Master’s in Management of Innovation at the same institution.
Charlotte has been nominated for several awards, including Forbes 30 Under 30, EY Emerging Entrepreneur 2023, Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year 2022, Top 30 Most Inclusive Leaders NL, and Sifted’s Top 14 European Gen Z Founders.
Along with her twin sister Charlotte, Fleur Melkert, CCO & Co-founder of Equalture, is also revolutionising recruitment through science-based hiring software.
She is on a mission to disrupt the HR tech market by removing gut feelings and introducing data into every aspect of people’s decision-making.
Her work has earned her numerous accolades, including Harper’s Bazaar Woman of the Year (Public Award) and recognition as a champion of diversity and inclusion.
Fleur pursued her education at Erasmus University, Rotterdam, completing a Bachelor’s degree in Criminology with a minor in Psychology. She also enrolled in a Master of Science (M.Sc.) program in Management & Organisation, though the degree was not acquired.
Her work has led to several nominations, including Forbes 30 under 30 2022, Harper’s Bazaar Woman of The Year 2022 (Public Award), Sprout Challenger 50, Inspiring Fifty 2018, TedxWomen Amsterdam, Sprout 25 under 25, The Next Women100 2017 & 2018 & 2019, TNW500 and the Award for the most Diverse and Inclusive Company in the Netherlands 2021.
Marta Sjögren
Founder of Paebbl
Marta Sjögren is the co-founder of Paebbl, a company that turns captured CO2 into building materials that store carbon permanently.
She is a planet-positive company builder and investor with a passion for future-proof technologies that solve real problems.
With a focus on promoting diversity and constructive innovation, particularly in venture capital and finance, Marta supports teams developing transformative solutions and better products.
Previously, she was an institutional investor in early-stage B2B and B2C companies in Europe and the US for over a decade.
Marta holds a B.Sc. in International Relations from the London School of Economics and a Master’s in European Business from ESCP Business School.
Marjolein van Tilburg and Martine de Leeuw
Co-founders of ChatLicense
Marjolein van Tilburg is the CEO & Co-founder of ChatLicense, a family app designed to guide parents and kids through the challenges of managing a first smartphone.
She is a writer, speaker, and inventor with a diverse background as a lawyer and mediator.
She has experience as a general counsel and a data protection officer and a successful track record in global companies and law firms.
She collaborates with corporates, governments, and experts in children’s rights, media literacy, and digital health to set higher standards for families dealing with technology.
She pursued a leadership education, completing the Women Corporate Directors Programme in Organisational Leadership at the TIAS School for Business and Society.
Additionally, she earned a postgraduate degree in Transformative Leadership from The Women’s Leadership Program by Carla Clarissa.
Martine de Leeuw, the CMO & Co-founder of Chatlicense, is a Dutch entrepreneur and impact-driven leader currently living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
As a serial entrepreneur, Martine also founded JungleBird Agency, which supports businesses with triple-bottom-line values to amplify their impact.
As an angel investor, she holds a Master’s in Social Sciences from VU Amsterdam and a certificate in Sustainable Business Strategy from Harvard Business School Online.
Bibi Jorissen
Co-founder and CEO at umob
Bibi Jorissen is the CEO & Co-founder at umob, a MaaS platform that combines all mobility providers through full integrations into one app and puts the traveller first.
She is passionate about blending technology and sustainability to drive positive change.
With dual Master’s degrees in Strategy and Marketing, she has a strong background in sustainable practices and market strategy.
Her early career achievements include reducing General Motors’ carbon footprint and driving a 30 percent fleet growth at Greenwheels, which transformed urban mobility in the Netherlands.
Through umob, Bibi focuses on developing creative solutions for a more sustainable future in mobility.
Micky Chen and Linky Chen
Co-founders of Minite and Her Future
Micky Chen is the CEO & Co-founder of Minite, a Students-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider. The platform connects vetted top student freelancers with companies to perform CV-building work in digital marketing, sales, market research, data, IT, analytics, and (graphic) design.
She is also the CEO & Co-founder of Her Future, a startup that empowers young women in technology by helping them explore various career paths.
Micky is an ex-Salesforce employee turned tech entrepreneur. She is passionate about helping the next generation succeed and making the world a better place through entrepreneurial endeavours.
She is also a Guest Lecturer at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, where she shares knowledge on startups, growth, tech and innovation, and new business development.
Before Minite, she founded BOXY in Singapore, where they designed complete gift boxes and engaged in creative corporate gifting for SMEs.
Micky’s professional journey also includes roles at Salesforce as an Account Executive, Team Leader for Business Development, and Sr. Business Development Consultant.
She holds an M.Sc. in Information Systems from the University of Amsterdam. Additionally, she also completed a B.Sc. in International Business Administration from Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, completed in 2013.
Passionate about empowering young talent, Linky Chen leads Sales & Operations at Minite, a platform connecting companies with top-tier freelance university talent, and HerFuture, an extension dedicated to advancing women in tech.
HerFuture is on a mission to combat gender disparity in the industry. It supports young women in exploring diverse tech career paths.
Holding an LL.B from Leiden University and VU Amsterdam, Linky combines her legal background with a commitment to driving impactful change.
Marleen ten Damme
Founder and CEO of Vi Health
Marleen ten Damme, is the CEO & founder of VI Health, a platform catering to women aged 40 and above, offering a data-driven, personalised health approach. It focuses on providing support to women during the menopause. She has a strong background in digital health innovation.
Before founding Vi Health, Marleen served as a Corporate Venture Entrepreneur at NN Group, focusing on Digital Health and Female Health Platform innovation.
She holds an MBA in Strategic Management from the University of Amsterdam. She also completed a Premaster in Business Administration at Radboud University.
Daria Kozlova
Co-founder of Deep Breath
Daria Kozlova is the co-founder of Deep Breath, a medtech company that aims to optimise mechanical lung ventilation in ICUs through its AI-driven decision-support systems.
She offers a unique clinical and pharmaceutical expertise blend.
Daria focuses on designing tools that simplify the overwhelming amount of medical data, aiming to reduce clinician burnout and, ultimately, enhance patient outcomes — especially in high-stakes environments like the ICU.
She has first-hand experience in hospital settings, particularly the operating room, and over four years of developing digital tools for pharmaceutical giants like Takeda and Teva.
Daria has worked on educational platforms and AI-driven chatbots for the oncology field.
Additionally, she co-founded tARvel, a platform for creating personalised tourist routes.
Daria holds a diploma in Politics and International Relations from Queen Mary University of London and has training in OSINT from the Basel Institute on Governance.
Graciëlla van Vliet
Founder of Closure and Jochem.ai
Graciëlla van Vliet is the founder of Closure, a company that offers users a digital platform that allows heirs to cancel all their subscriptions, from telephone to social media accounts, in one place.
She has a strong background in customer care solutions and knowledge management.
Additionally, Graciëlla co-founded Jochem in 2023, focusing on simplifying knowledge management and retrieval.
Graciëlla holds a Master’s degree in Econometrics & Management Science from the Erasmus School of Economics and studied at Maastricht University.
Female founders to watch out for in 2025
In addition to the above-mentioned female entrepreneurs, there are a few rising female founders who are reshaping Rotterdam’s startup ecosystem and showing what’s possible with grit and determination.
Leaving aside their innovations and positions, these female founders are building a “progressive” legacy, inspiring others to follow in their footsteps. In 2025, keep an eye on them as they continue to challenge the status quo and set a new standard in the Rotterdam startup ecosystem.
Estefania Hernandez
CEO & Co-Founder at Everday
Estefania Hernandez is the CEO & Co-founder of Everday, an AI-powered workforce intelligence platform capable of analysing, mapping, and validating skills across entire organisations and comparing the results with the latest skills required for each role.
She is a passionate entrepreneur with a decade of experience building socially impactful tech startups. She also co-founded Mi Dulce Hogar, which provides over 100,000 services and creates jobs for 800+ women.
Forbes recognised her as one of Mexico’s 30 promising entrepreneurs in 2018. She also participated in the 500 Startups program.
As a mentor for organisations like Chany Ventures, Estefania actively supports the growth of female founders in LATAM.
She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) from Tecnológico de Monterrey.
Lori Goff
Founder & CEO of Outlander Materials
Lori Goff is the CEO & Co-founder of Outlander Materials, a company dedicated to tackling plastic waste by creating sustainable alternatives like UnPlastic.
She studied biotechnology in the U.S. and advised circular startups on their scientific process.
While brewing beer at home, Lori came up with the idea of UnPlastic and has since been on a quest to create better alternatives to single-use plastics.
As a “bioneer” and multifaceted leader, Lori drives her team to develop the materials of the future, blending science, creativity, and responsibility.
She holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.Sc.) in Biotechnology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Additionally, Goff completed an exchange semester at the University of Groningen, where she focused on Dutch Culture and Spatial Sciences.
Rusne Sileryte
Co-founder and CTO at geoFluxus
Rusne Sileryte is the CTO & Co-founder of geoFluxux, a SaaS-enabled marketplace connecting waste producers with waste processors.
With a PhD in Environmental Technology and Design from TU Delft, Rusne’s research focuses on GIS tools for assessing spatially varying impact significance.
Combining expertise in architecture, urban design, and geomatics engineering, she develops computational workflows to enhance impact assessment from building to regional scales.
Rusne holds a PhD in Geography from Delft University of Technology and a Master’s degree in Geomatics for the Built Environment, also from Delft University of Technology.
Samin Bayat
Founder and CEO of I SMILE
Samin Bayat is the CEO and founder of I SMILE, a company focused on medical technology that specialises in AI solutions for brain diseases. The company provides advanced tools for diagnosis, treatment, and care, benefiting both patients and healthcare providers.
Samin has been recognised as one of the top 3 in the AI Entrepreneur category for the Women in AI Benelux Awards 2025.
With a Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence and a track record of inventions, Samin is committed to revolutionising businesses and advancing technological innovation.
Beyond professional achievements, Samin is passionate about supporting charities, collaborating with NGOs, and promoting well-being through a love for nature, meditation, and spreading joy.
01
From port to startup fort: How Lars Crama is ‘Making it Happen’ in Rotterdam