Two IT entrepreneurs have shared the Woman Business Manager of the Year Innovation Award for 2017, a first for the competition.
Judges drawn from government agencies and the private sector decided that Alexandra Fernandez-Ramos, co-founder of hotel ranking specialist Travelsify, and Nathalie Dondelinger, co-founder of video recruitment app Kliber, should share the award in a competition characterised by the high quality of entrants.
The innovation award attracted 25 applicants, from which a shortlist of five were selected following presentations to the judging panel consisting of representatives from competition sponsor Banque Internationale à Luxembourg, the Luxembourg Business Association (UEL), the National Institute for Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility, start-up accelerator organisation nyuko and high-tech incubator Technoport.
Launched in 2016, Travelsify has develop an algorithm for the travel sector that ranks 290,000 hotels around the world, based on analysis of 100 million reviews and opinions in six languages made by visitors and industry specialists. Travelsify recently launched mobile platform MoodMatch in partnership with international hotel giant Accor.
Kliber, launched in 2015, facilitates the recruitment process by enabling employers and potential candidates to communicate through videos via their mobile phones. Aimed especially at digital natives, it is already widely used by Luxembourg companies and Kliber is extending its reach to France and Germany.
The other shortlisted contender were Elfy Pins, founder of the Luxembourg community website and app provider Supermiro.com; Virginie Simon of MyScienceWork.com, an online scientific research portal offering access to 60 million publications and 6 million patents with operations in Luxembourg, Paris and San Francisco; and Mathilde Argaud of Largowind, creator of a security monitoring app for sailing boats at their moorings.
The Woman Business Manager of the Year competition was established in 2006 to showcase exceptional women whose talent and energy are making their mark in the development of Luxembourg's economy through an innovative approach or technology.
