Giulia Pettinau, CEO of Orangogo, won second place at the Young Female Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2020, organized by Youth Business International (YBI) and Citi Foundation to reward young female entrepreneurs in Europe.

The Young Female Entrepreneur of the Year award took place via streaming on 20 October and celebrated 11 of Europe’s most innovative young female entrepreneurs, who are among the 26,000 young entrepreneurs the Youth Business Europe program has supported over the past five years, with a tailor-made package of entrepreneurial training and business mentoring support. The program is part of the Pathways to Progress initiative launched by Citi Foundation, which aims to help tackle youth unemployment and access to decent work.

The victory was announced by Pip Jamieson, founder and CEO of The Dots. Giulia was honored for her outstanding work in creating Orangogo, an online search engine that allows users to find nearby sports clubs using geolocation and other filters.

Giulia describes the company as an innovative start-up that aims to help people discover their sports talent. “Orangogo now employs 18 people, 15 of whom are women. The company plans to expand its service in France”.

Giulia has been supported in her entrepreneurial journey by the Business Mentors of the MicroLab Association, part of the Youth Business Europe network.

The Youth Business Europe program has trained and guided young female entrepreneurs to provide them with the skills, confidence and connections they need to become successful entrepreneurs. The YBE partnership includes 11 YBI member organizations in 10 countries: Belgium (microStart), France (Adie, Positive Planet), Germany (KIZ), Italy (MicroLab), Ireland (Inner City Enterprise), Kazakhstan (MOST Business Incubator), the Netherlands (Qredits), Russia (jointly supported by YBI Youth Business Russia member together with Impact Hub Moscow), Spain (Youth Business Spain) and Sweden (Swedish Jobs and Society).

Bonnie Chiu, Managing Director, The Social Investment Consultancy, congratulated all 11 finalists of the award, stressing the importance of breaking down barriers that limit women’s entry into the business world:

“Growing up I had no role models to look to as women entrepreneurs. When I think of an entrepreneur I think of people who are in the field, serving their communities, doing the hardest work. They are the ones who keep our economies going. Most women entrepreneurs look at their business as a way to support society. In times like these we need it more than ever. ”

Pip Jamieson, founder and CEO of The Dots, said about the Youth Business Europe network:

“There are several challenges to face as a female entrepreneur. Not being alone and being part of a network like Youth Business Europe is very important”, and she stressed the importance of creating a business focused on the social good: “The thing that has allowed me to overcome difficult times as an entrepreneur has been that we have always had a social purpose at the heart of our business. The social purpose has helped me to persevere in difficult times when I could have given up. I have combined what I love to do, what I am good at, but most importantly, what the world needs. It is about trying to make the world a better place. There has never been a better time in history to be a female entrepreneur”.

Anita Tiessen, CEO of YBI, called for more support from governments in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, saying, “I am incredibly proud of what all the finalists have achieved today. Every woman who succeeds in her business brings us one step closer to gender equality in business. But while governments around the world plan for economic recovery, we cannot risk leaving a generation of girls and young women behind. We urgently need them to better rebuild and create the SMEs that are vital to our economies and communities”.

Silvia Boschetti, responsible for Citi’s public affairs and government affairs in Italy, said: “Like thousands of entrepreneurs we have worked with, the eleven talented and resilient finalists we are celebrating today needed support to turn their idea into a successful business. Women-owned businesses are not secondary. The Young Female Entrepreneur of the Year award finalists are filling gaps in their markets and devising innovative solutions to address the problems we face at a very difficult time for our economies and communities”.