Empowering Change: Bayer Foundation Supports 15 Women Entrepreneurs Revolutionizing Healthcare and Food Solutions

The Bayer Foundation Women Entrepreneurs Award (BFWEA) celebrated its 2025 winners on September 9 in Leverkusen, Germany. This award highlights 15 incredible women from Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and the Asia Pacific. They are tackling major issues in healthcare and food security.

According to the United Nations and the World Health Organization, around 295 million people worldwide are facing acute hunger, and 2.33 billion suffer from food insecurity. This makes the need for actionable, scalable solutions extremely urgent.

The 2025 winners, chosen from 1,763 applicants across 117 countries, are innovating in areas like AI-powered health diagnostics, climate-smart farming, community-led nutrition, and circular economy strategies. These women entrepreneurs are making a significant impact.

Since the award’s inception in 2021, it has helped women entrepreneurs create real change. The winners from 2024 and 2025 alone have reached 3.68 million people with better healthcare, supported over 69,000 small farmers, and generated nearly $3.93 million in additional income in rural areas.

Chitkala Kalidas, Executive Director of Bayer Foundation, emphasizes the potential of social entrepreneurs to drive meaningful change. She noted that the foundation provides funding, knowledge-sharing, and networking opportunities to help these women succeed.

Despite their significant contributions, women entrepreneurs still face barriers. They account for 30% of GDP in emerging markets but struggle with access to capital and mentorship, as highlighted by the World Economic Forum. To address these challenges, the award gives each winner a €25,000 cash prize, a six-month Accelerator Program, and entry into a global network through the Impact Hub.

Kalidas explains that this partnership aims to connect entrepreneurs with essential resources and networks. This support strengthens local efforts to tackle health and food challenges and fosters sustainable innovation.

Since 2021, the award has supported 55 women whose ventures are making measurable impacts in health and food security. Winners in 2024 experienced an impressive average revenue growth of 84% within just six months—proof that when women are given resources and visibility, they can lead transformative changes.

The 2025 cohort continues this trajectory, addressing systemic challenges with solutions meant for a global scale. Profiles of the 15 winners are available at Bayer Foundation Women Entrepreneurs Award.

These efforts not only uplift the individual winners but aim to empower communities and reshape sectors critical to our well-being. Acknowledging and supporting women in entrepreneurship is essential to creating a more equitable and sustainable future.

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Bayer Foundation, food security, Women Entrepreneurs, food challenges, social entrepreneurs, World Health Organisation, Impact Hub, scalable solutions