In honor of International Women’s Day, we’re spotlighting women CEOs and founders from HolonIQ’s Global EdTech 800, the world’s top EdTech Startups who are transforming the way the world learns.
Through 2020, HolonIQ identified the top 800 EdTech startups around the world. Region by region, we mapped the most promising EdTech startups, both early and late stage. We mapped the Africa EdTech 50, Australia and New Zealand EdTech 50, Europe EdTech 100, India and South Asia EdTech 100, LATAM EdTech 100, Nordic and Baltic EdTech 50, North America EdTech 100, Russia and CIS EdTech 100 and finally the Southeast Asia EdTech 50. To be eligible, these companies had to be startups (i.e. not acquired, controlled or listed), operating in the field of education, learning or training technology, and generally less than 10 years old.
In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8 – 2021, we’re celebrating the women leading these incredible startups as CEOs, Founders and Co-Founders — and the work they’re doing across 185 EdTech companies around the world. 21% (170) of the 800 companies were founded by women, and 13% (104) have women CEOs or Co-CEOs. Through our work at HolonIQ, which is also co-founded and co-led by a woman, we are determined to play our part in eliminating the gender gap in leadership, entrepreneurship and education.
Despite the progress made in parity for women, there’s still an enormous amount to be done. Our Global State of Play Report on Women CEOs and Leadership around the world deep dives into the numbers across different industries to highlight the areas making most progress and where much work is still to be done.
210 Top Women CEOs & Founders leading Global EdTech Startups
The following amazing women have Founded or Lead the most promising Edtech Startups globally. Building and running a startup is not for the faint hearted with an estimated 90% failure rate and research shows that barriers for women to start or lead a successful business are higher than normal. The women you see below have not only overcome significant odds but are focused on making a difference in the lives of millions of learners worldwide. Congratulations on your impact so far and we look forward to tracking your progress over the coming years.
If by chance we have missed a female CEO or Founder/Co-Founder who leads an EdTech company selected in HolonIQ’s Global EdTech 800 Series, please contact us immediately and we will update the list.

Himangi Airon
Honorary CEO at Exam18
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Hui (Grace) Zhi
CEO at DaDaABC

Ida Rönnlund
CEO at Four Ferries

Ingel Keskpaik
COO and Co-founder at Speakly

Irina Minasyan
CMO and Co-Founder at Joong

Jane Ding
Co-CEO at Yunxuetang

Jenni Vartiainen
Co-Founder and Head of Pedagogies & Research at Kide Science

Jessica Butcher
Co-Founder at Blippar

Jessie Chen
Co-Founder at VIPKid

Jessie Woolley-Wilson
CEO and President at DreamBox Learning

Jill Snape
Co-Founder at Teach Starter

Jo Besford
Founder and Director at Green Shoots Education
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