SAN FRANCISCO/United States of America: Grey, the global banking platform providing borderless financial solutions for digital nomads and businesses, has announced the winners of its 2025 UpGreyed Her initiative—an equity-free grant program supporting women-led businesses. This year’s edition awarded a total of $9,500 to four outstanding women entrepreneurs, marking the initiative’s expansion from Africa to a truly global stage.
“Financial inclusion isn’t just about access to banking, it’s about providing the resources entrepreneurs need to scale their impact,” said Femi Aghedo, co-founder of Grey. “By taking UpGreyed Her global, we’re reinforcing our commitment to building a financial ecosystem where women founders can thrive across borders, just like our banking solutions.”
Launched on International Women’s Day (March 8), the 2025 edition received nearly 2,000 applications from across continents—an impressive leap from last year’s Africa-centric program. The competition specifically focused on growth-stage ventures in innovation-led and male-dominated sectors, including agritech, climatetech, and femtech.
After a rigorous selection process, including virtual pitch presentations, four women-led businesses emerged as winners:
- Grand Prize ($4,000): Patricia Zanella, EcoCiclo (Brazil) – Pioneering Brazil’s first 100% biodegradable sanitary pads made from local materials to combat menstrual poverty in rural and indigenous communities.
- First Runner-Up ($2,000): Sarah Olagoke, Tersley Foods Ltd (Nigeria) – Providing functional foods and community support to help women manage reproductive health issues like PCOS.
- Second Runner-Up ($2,000): Arinola Okeowo, Ultra Farms Ltd (Nigeria) – Reducing post-harvest losses and linking smallholder farmers to improved market access.
- Third Runner-Up ($1,500): Elizabeth Oladepo, 07 Foods Ltd (Nigeria) – Promoting food security through sustainable food processing and empowering women and youth with agribusiness skills.
Grand prize winner Patricia Zanella, a former human rights worker, said the grant validates her company’s mission. “This grant validates our vision for sustainable menstrual products that create both environmental and social impact. With Grey’s support, we’ll scale our production and reach more vulnerable communities across Brazil. I’m proud to be part of this global network of women who are building, scaling, and breaking barriers,” she said.
Applications were judged by a distinguished panel of women leaders on criteria such as innovation, scalability, social impact, leadership, revenue potential, and viability. The judges included Tinu Phillips Odufuye (FCMB Asset Management, Nigeria), Sarah Achebe (Grey, Nigeria), Natasha Mahtani (India), Maite Lourenço (Brazil), and Anmol Bharti (Grey, India).
“Funding women isn’t just charity, it’s smart economics,” said Odufuye during her keynote at the awards ceremony. “UpGreyed Her empowers women-led businesses not just to dream, but to scale and shape the world. Because upgrading her is, in fact, upgrading the world.”
The 2025 edition was executed in collaboration with WIMBIZ, a prominent organization dedicated to advancing women in business and leadership. Grey plans to open applications for UpGreyed Her 2026 in March next year, with ambitions to increase both the size of the grants and the number of recipients.
