At Female StartAperitivo, the decision was made which founder would represent Hamburg in the nationwide Female Founders Contest with her startup. Eight candidates competed, and Yelda Nur Demirdöğen from exaere came out on top with a technology for recycling rare earths.
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June 12, 2026
exaere to represent Hamburg in the Female Founders Contest
Startups are considered to have particularly high chances of success when they address a real problem and offer an innovative solution. Accordingly, the candidates in this year’s edition of Female StartAperitivo (FSA) should have good prospects of winning over investors, as they presented themselves as competent problem solvers. This would fulfil a key purpose of FSA, because the competition was launched five years ago by the Hamburg Investors Network (HIN) to facilitate access to funding for female founders.
© HIN /Markus Hertrich : the participants of Female StartAperitivo 2026, the jury and the team of HIN
For example, Anina Tietjens and her startup Anori Tech solve the problem faced by many battery manufacturers of having to turn down orders because they are missing a crucial component: the battery management system. A modular system provides the solution. Parnian Fazel founded Biohugs, a biofeedback-based wellness app that runs adaptive, real-time sessions to support self-regulation and improve quality of life. Christina Linke’s Clean Ocean Coatings offers a hull coating for ships with three benefits: reduced environmental impact, lower fuel consumption and longer durability. pickz.ai and Alexandra Stella Kluge bring order to the disparate data sets that complicate collaboration between opticians and spectacle manufacturers.
Data is also the topic of Jacqueline De Lora’s SURFACtoBioTech, specifically the results of medical and biotechnological experiments. A new process increases the number of tests that can be carried out simultaneously many-fold and speeds up the process by a factor of 1,000. Another startup focused on faster access to data is Aurelytix by Anusha Akkina. It helps companies obtain real-time information about their financial situation so they can resolve issues before they become a serious threat. Building faster and more sustainably with 3D printing is the business idea behind 3D-bautec. Jacqueline Orner presented a system that can be used with particular flexibility on site thanks to its mobile print arm.
© HIN / Markus Hertrich: Yelda Nur Demirdöğen, winner of Female StartAperitivo 2026 with exaere
exaere makes the recycling of rare earths possible
Yelda Nur Demirdöğen from exaere proved to be the most promising problem-solver of the evening. She was awarded first place by a jury of experts, thereby securing her ticket for the final of the Female Founders Contest on 10 September in Berlin. She will be competing there with a technology that facilitates the recycling of rare earths. Until now, this has been virtually impossible, even with the greatest effort. exaere aims to reduce dependence on imports from countries such as China and to take a decisive step forward in Europe’s self-sufficiency. The process is also applicable to other metals such as gallium or platinum.
