On May 31st, we wrapped up another Garage48 Empowering Women Accelerator.
Everything started in March, when women from Ida-Viru County and beyond gathered at the Empowering Women Hackathon to test ideas, solve real-life problems, and take their first steps into entrepreneurship.
Since one weekend is rarely enough to turn an idea into a business, we invited all hackathon teams to continue their journey in the accelerator. Over the following months, they worked on their products and services with the support of mentors, experts, and fellow participants.
We also opened the accelerator to women who had not attended the hackathon.
After all, Empowering Women is not only about building businesses - it's also about building confidence, connections, and a strong community of women who support and inspire each other. 💖
The accelerator brought together 14 teams, who spent the spring developing their ideas, products, and services. On Demo Day, the teams presented what they had achieved during the program. What amazed us most was how much progress the teams made in such a short time. Many started with just an idea and ended up with a prototype, customer feedback, and a much clearer vision of where they want to take their business next. It was also wonderful to see how much the participants grew personally. Over the course of the program, they became more confident, more ambitious, and more comfortable presenting their ideas and achievements.
Ilona Mahharamova, Team LIIK:
"The program gave us the confidence to keep developing our idea and showed us that even a small idea can grow into something much bigger. The hackathon helped us quickly shape our idea, test it, and receive valuable feedback. By the end of the program, we started thinking not only as specialists in our field, but also as entrepreneurs and problem-solvers."
Lead mentor Jelena Oshepkova with her teams LIIK, PavLoveTravel, Startup Birds, and Soft Skills Trainer. Photo by Sandra Süsi.
One of the best things about the accelerator was seeing how much the teams grew in just a few months. Some improved and refined their original ideas, while others realized they needed to change direction and try something new. And that's completely normal. Building a business is often about learning, testing, and adjusting along the way. This also made the jury's job quite difficult. There were many strong teams, and selecting the winners was not easy. In the end, the jury looked at the progress teams had made, their commitment throughout the program, and the potential of their ideas.
Triin Preem (Lead mentor):
"What stood out this year was the strong focus on technology. In previous years, we saw many beautiful handcrafted products, but this time it was inspiring to see women using technology to solve real-life problems - it’s a real shift. I was also amazed by their level of tech skills and confidence with AI tools, even vibecoding prototypes like pros. I’ve never seen anything like it, and I couldn’t be prouder. I believe the participants are truly unstoppable - they now have the structure, tools, and confidence to turn any idea or challenge into something real."
So, who took home the prizes this year?
🏆 Seeniorisoodukas- An online platform bringing together discounts and special offers available to seniors across Estonia. Try it out here.
WINNER: Tiim Seeniorisoodukas. Photo by Sandra Süsi.
🥈My Metric Trade - A no-code trading automation platform that allows traders to automate investment strategies across different brokers without programming skills.
🥉 LIIK - A platform that combines online booking and community features, allowing users to book trainings and sports facilities, create their own games, and join existing ones.
The jury also wanted to recognize two teams that stood out because of their remarkable progress during the accelerator and the strong potential of their ideas...
⭐ Startup Birds - A mobile app connecting pet owners with trusted pet sitters. The team showed remarkable progress during the accelerator, moving from an initial idea to a working prototype, conducting market research, and already engaging their first pet sitters.
⭐ KoDu - A platform combining construction tracking, communication, and interior design tools for real estate developers and homebuyers.
We'd also like to give a shoutout to the other cool teams that were part of this year's accelerator 💓
PavLoveTravel (EasyTravel) - a smart travel-planning solution that helps travelers make better route choices based on weather conditions.
MÜKSATUS - a lightweight client relationship tracker for freelancers and solo service providers. Every morning, it reminds users which clients need a follow-up, helping ensure that no important relationship is forgotten.
Ökoskoop - a platform that makes complex environmental and open datasets more accessible through AI-powered reports tailored to different user groups.
ArtBridge - an AI-powered platform helping artists create professional portfolios, organize their work, and connect with potential buyers.
Although we didn't see these teams on the Demo Day stage, they achieved plenty during the accelerator...
Drivory - an AI-powered, location-based mobile app that turns everyday driving into a real-time discovery experience.
Aiaäpp – a gardening companion app with personalized weather alerts, gardening recommendations, planning tools, calculators, podcasts, and a community forum for gardeners.
Vettasec – a SaaS platform helping larger organizations manage third-party vendors, contracts, compliance requirements, and onboarding processes more efficiently.
Keep building, keep believing in your ideas, and keep going - you've already come so far! 🚀
A special shoutout to our amazing mentor squad: Triin Preem, Jelena Oshepkova, Maret Kruve, Ilya Vasilyev, and Triin Roo, and our fantastic jury member, Alice Järvet. 🚀 💗
A special thank you also goes to sTARTUp Day and Heavenly Lemonade for supporting our Demo Day and helping us celebrate the teams' achievements.
The pitches were only part of the story. Our aftermovie gives a glimpse into the people, emotions, and positive energy that filled the room that day. Huge thanks to MarijaVie for the cool aftermovie! 💜
The accelerator is part of the kood/Garage48: Empowering Women project, run by Garage48 together with KoodTech. This project is co-funded by the European Union under the Just Transition Fund.
