Meet the women-led web3 startups from Thousand Faces’ demo day

Thousand Faces, a web3 community-based investment group, hosted its demo day on Wednesday with the top 10 startups from its Female Founder Accelerator program.

The demo day coincided with International Women’s Day and featured women-led businesses focused on sustainable development goals (SDGs). The accelerator program’s first cohort accepted 30 startups from a pool of over 220 applicants across 76 countries.

The 10 startups are pitching for a spot in the top five to be eligible for one-on-one mentorship and up to €50,000 in cash rewards and prizes that will be awarded next month, the group said.

Here’s a breakdown of Thousand Faces' top 10 startups the Female Founder Accelerator:

Company name: Kleiderly

  • What it does: Recycle textile waste

  • Founder: Alina Bassi

  • Country: Germany

  • The pitch: Kleiderly recycles unwanted textile waste and turns that into its patented plastic alternative in hopes of replacing the need for plastics. The material aims to replace oil-based plastics and produce items ranging from eyewear to suitcases, Bassi said during demo day. To date, it has saved 20,000 shirts from going to landfill, Bassi added. The startup estimates each corporate customer can save about 12,500 kilograms of CO2e, equivalent to 1.5 million smartphones charged or 13,800 pounds of coal burned.

Company name: SALUBATA

  • What it does: Shoes made of recycled plastic

  • Founder: Yewande Akinse

  • Country: Nigeria

  • The pitch: SALUBATA makes patented modular shoes from recycled plastic waste in an effort to decrease the global carbon footprint. The shoes are customizable and are also available as NFTs. The startup has strategic partnerships with companies like Amazon and Faire and has sold over 6,000 shoes to date. It is currently registered in Nigeria, France and the U.S. and is looking to raise $3 million to scale globally, Akinse shared.

Company name: SOULA (legal name MAMATECH Inc.)

  • What it does: Pre- and post-pregnancy app

  • Founder: Natallia Miranchuk

  • Country: Cyprus

  • The pitch: The SOULA app is an AI-powered guide for 24/7 informational and mental health support during pregnancy, birth and postpartum care. The application provides personalized educational content and emotional support with a virtual assistant or “pocket” version of a doula. It is currently raising a seed round to invest in business development and grow its product development.

Company name: AkwaaPay

  • What it does: Payments solution

  • Founder: Christine Dikonguè

  • Country: Canada and Nigeria

  • The pitch: AkwaaPay leverages web3 infrastructure to help African businesses and individuals make and receive payments internationally. The platform allows users to receive money in their wallets in cryptocurrencies or convert it to local currencies. The startup launched its beta product in Q4 2022 and has 384 users registered across three countries. It hopes to expand in 15 different currencies across 44 countries by the end of the year, Dikonguè said during her pitch.