The new edition of Women in Action, the acceleration programme for female-founded startups, is underway. We hear from the two founders.
In Italy, talking about female entrepreneurship still means confronting figures that reveal a glaring gap — but also an extraordinary, untapped potential. While women's participation in the labour market remains among the lowest in Europe, the picture becomes even more complex when you enter the world of innovation and startups: here, founders are fewer in number, less funded, less supported. Not for lack of ideas, skills or vision, but because of an ecosystem that often still fails to fully recognise the value of female leadership, diversity of perspective, and an approach to business capable of combining growth, responsibility and social impact.
It is from this awareness that Women in Action was born — the acceleration programme promoted by LifeGate Way, dedicated to innovative startups led by women or majority-female teams, as well as students and young entrepreneurs who want to turn an idea into a concrete project. An accessible, free and equity free pathway, designed to support participants from concept to market entry, offering training, mentorship, networking and, above all, a vision: building "natively" sustainable businesses capable of generating economic value and human value at the same time.
The Women in Action pathway unfolds through clear, time-marked stages: on 20 February, applications will close and 16 pre-selected candidates will be chosen to move on to the next evaluation phase. The programme will kick off in earnest on 12 March with the Women in Action Day, a day devoted to meeting, discussion and the presentation of entrepreneurial ideas. From there, nine finalists will be identified: three startups, three early-stage entrepreneurs and three students who will officially begin the acceleration programme on 9 April. After months of training, mentorship and growth, the journey will reach its concluding moment on 7 July, by which point the projects will have taken a decisive step towards their future.
Co-founded by Elga Corricelli and Layla Pavone, Women in Action is a space for empowerment where participants learn to believe in their own potential, to transform fear into energy, and to build relationships and skills that last. An ecosystem that supports, connects and accelerates. A place where sustainability is a guiding principle. To explore the origins, goals, distinctive features and impact of Women in Action, we put these questions to the founders.
How did Women in Action come about, and what specific need within the female startup ecosystem did you set out to address from the very beginning?
Women in Action grew out of a long journey. In the environments we have been part of, we have always paid close attention to a sustainable entrepreneurial mindset through a female lens, experiencing first-hand how the energy of both genders can be transformative in building balanced, innovative ecosystems that are responsive to the needs of a rapidly changing society. Two years ago we designed the Women in Action programme and proposed it to LifeGate Way, which has always been deeply committed to sustainability. Once again, our idea was to support women entrepreneurs — who in our country are still few in number — with effective tools to strengthen their capacity to build a business. Mindset is a way of thinking and acting: it fosters growth and autonomy, a healthy attitude to risk, and the ability to co-create and collaborate. It is something anyone can develop, given the right stimuli and tools — and we have those tools. We know the value they can generate in people who have great entrepreneurial ideas.
In your experience, what is the most underestimated obstacle female founders face on their entrepreneurial journey?
I couldn't say whether it's the most underestimated, but it is undoubtedly the most frightening — and it's one that appears time and again on the entrepreneurial journey: the fear of not making it. Of not being capable enough, of not having the right energy, of battling negative external judgement, of having to give up being a mother, a partner, a friend, a daughter — as if being an entrepreneur takes something away from you, rather than completing who you are. When women realise that energy can be nurtured and channelled, that's when the magic happens.
How does Women in Action differentiate itself from other initiatives supporting female entrepreneurship?
First of all, it is entirely free and equity free. Secondly, it works exclusively with natively sustainable businesses. Furthermore, it brings together entrepreneurs, students, researchers, freelancers and founders, because we believe that collective intelligence is the most powerful driver of sustainable innovation. Exchange, lateral thinking and diverse experiences stimulate exploration and the growth of both individuals and shared ventures, accelerating progress. And not least, Women in Action has a human sustainability programme that equips participants with tools to develop energy, focus and wellbeing — because so much attention is usually given to planning business steps, and almost none to developing the human energy needed to take them. Finally, it is the only programme that helps founders build a values framework for their business and works on purpose from day one.
What role do mentorship and networking play in the growth of women-led startups, and how have you structured them within the project?
Again, exchange is the lifeblood that nourishes companies. There is no more powerful lever — whether you are building a business or contributing to an existing one — than the stimulus and guidance of people with greater experience. We know this, and together with the wonderful LifeGate Way team, we nurture it every day. Hence tools such as mentorship, coaching and the building of meaningful networks — transformative elements that accompany participants from the very first day and well beyond the programme's end. Every entrepreneur has mentors available for core challenges and, beyond that, can choose specific coaches and mentors tailored to their own journey — people to consult, new connections to make, advisors to identify and a broader network to build.
Beyond technical skills, what competencies do you consider essential today for a founder who wants to scale her startup?
Sustainability competencies are essential. Equally important is human sustainability — understanding your own potential, the levers of how you operate, your talents, the values of both the individual and the team, and how to nurture your energy and wellbeing. Becoming aware of the value each individual brings in order to build a productive team is a journey we walk alongside them, equipping them with tools they can use for life. Training in generative communication, resilience, inclusion and a learning-from-failure mindset are human skills that all of us — as entrepreneurs and as leaders — should have.
Have you seen a real shift in the way investors and companies view female-led startups in recent years? If so, in what way?
The data is clear: female leadership and women founders within a mixed team guarantee greater stability and stronger business growth. So if we used data as the primary decision-making lever, we would have investors actively seeking out women-led companies first. That is not the case. The numbers are growing, but slowly. I believe this too comes down to cultural attitudes and skewed representation. The investor world is — by nature and by history — male-dominated, with highly aggressive tendencies. I think the will to change exists, but there is still a great deal of work to be done.
Can you share a particularly meaningful story or result that emerged from Women in Action and confirmed the value of the initiative?
The stories of these startups are all stories of growth, and each one is significant in its own unique way. They respond to emerging needs and open sustainable paths — for example So.De Social Delivery, MeggyCare, Rebloom, Pausetiv, GJ, Empethy. Many are femtech ventures that combine the productivity of artificial intelligence with the challenging needs of this period in the best possible way.
How important is diversity (not only in terms of gender) for innovation and competitiveness in startups?
Inclusion is always an enormous asset: it enables innovation, rapid growth, the challenging of one's own biases, and the ability to see beyond in order to build better and more sustainably. We have a clear name and mission — Women in Action — but we are far from promoting exclusively all-female ventures: we champion gender alliance, multiculturalism and uniqueness, and we seek to strengthen good ideas by shifting the cultural paradigm that sees a disproportionate majority of men running businesses.
What advice would you give to a young woman who has an idea but doesn't yet feel ready to make the entrepreneurial leap?
The advice is always the same: engage with others, challenge your idea and try to understand how useful it really is and how much you truly believe in it. Seek out people who support you and people who challenge you, because only in this way will you be able to explore fully and understand the value of your intuition.
What is your vision for the future of Women in Action and, more broadly, for female entrepreneurship in Italy and Europe?
For Women in Action, the growth plan is clear: we want to develop the best possible support ecosystem for women entrepreneurs — or aspiring ones — in our country, and then move beyond national borders. We will increasingly create roundtables with companies, institutions and organisations, to place the value of sustainable growth guidance at the centre, built on a sustainable entrepreneurial mindset. Right now, within organisations, among leaders and in universities, it is essential to shift the paradigm and cultivate human skills in order to innovate rapidly and transformatively. If every employee were an entrepreneur within the company they work for, we would achieve a sense of contribution and growth that would be unique for our country as a whole. We can do this together, because we know what is needed and how to make the most of an extraordinarily powerful energy: feminine energy, which generates, integrates, transforms and co-creates, bringing together talents and potential.
