"I hope this award can motivate other women to believe in their abilities, to follow their dreams and not be afraid to take risks". These were the words of Verónica Orvalho, CEO of Didimo, winner of the 5th edition of the Women Entrepreneurship Award (WEA2022), promoted by the CTIE (Católica-Lisbon Center for Technological Innovation & Entrepreneurship), at the ceremony held on May 18, at Universidade Católica Portuguesa.

The award was created by the research centre of the Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics with the purpose of honouring a woman, who is the CEO, founder or co-founder of a company, or an entrepreneur of any nationality, with a project created in Portugal, who stands out for her current contribution to society and her vision of the future.

Characteristics that the jury recognised in the winning project which, according to Verónica Orvalho, aims at "a more human communication in the digital world, through the creation of a virtual identity, using 3D models that represent each person, thus reducing the gaps with the computer".

Delivered by the President of Universidade Católica Portuguesa, this award is already "a landmark, with a league of extraordinary winners", said Isabel Capeloa Gil, certain that "this year's three finalists will continue this path of success".

In addition to recognising women entrepreneurs who are distinguished by their exceptional work, this award, according to Céline Abecassis-Moedas, Director of the CTIE, is "a way to find Role Models for the next generations of women entrepreneurs."

"Statistics show that there are fewer women entrepreneurs than men entrepreneurs. Therefore, as an educational institution, we think it is important to support female entrepreneurship," she stressed.

Besides the prize money of 3000 euros, the winner will have access to an Executive Education programme at the Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics.

The jury was composed of: Isabel Capeloa Gil (Católica President), Céline Abecassis-Moedas (Director of CTIE), António Murta (Pathena), Cristina Fonseca (Indico Capital), Eduardo Piedade (Sonae IM), Gil Azevedo (Startup Lisboa), Isabel Furtado (TMG Automotive), João Vieira de Almeida (VdA), Lucy Gilson (UNH), Peter T. Paul (College of Business and Economics), Maria Lacerda (Imagegate), and Pedro Norton (Gulbenkian).

Carolina Amorim and Fabiana Clemente were the other finalists of the 5th edition of the Women Entrepreneurship Award, created in 2019, which, in previous editions, awarded Joana Rafael, Marta Palmeiro, Joana Paiva and Sónia Ferreira.