Margaret Akullo is a Ugandan diasporan woman whose global career reflects the spirit of resilience and renewal at the heart of EmpowerHer 2026. With more than 30 years of experience in international development, criminal justice reform, and leadership mentoring, she has supported institutions and individuals to design solutions that create meaningful, lasting change…

Lynette is a multi-passionate entrepreneur building across climate tech, regenerative systems, and resilient travel to create solutions that actually move the needle. Across her ventures, one theme is consistent: she helps people and places thrive by aligning nature, local communities, and business innovation. What sets her apart? She builds businesses the same way she builds teams with purpose, heart, and decisive action…

Wemimo is a multidisciplinary artist with Yoruba and Viennese heritage, raised internationally, whose work bridges music, performance, and cultural storytelling. Trained in musical theatre, she brings extensive experience as a dancer, model, and actress, with her live performances centered on Afro-House (Wemi Blue)...

The musical journey of cellist and singer/songwriter Marie Spaemann is shaped by an active and varied concert schedule as well as a fascination and curiosity for the diversity of the creative process and contemplative approaches to music making…

Over time, through her own journey of unlearning and remembering, Ravali began to understand the depth and complexity of this tradition. Time spent learning with monks and teachers in the Himalayas continues to shape how she share yoga today not as a collection of techniques, but as a practice of presence, care, and coming home to oneself.

Christina’s professional background is in communication, with a strong focus on inclusion and the design of events and initiatives that address social cohesion and belonging and Bistra works international communities based in Austria to bring change and inclusion in everyday life…

Miriam is co-founder of and attorney-at-law at nova*legal. She is advising small and medium-sized enterprises on corporate and commercial law matters, with a particular focus on tech companies and entrepreneurs with international backgrounds…

Motunrayo Olaogun is a career and life coach shaped by contrast — and strengthened by transition. Her profound entrepreneurship journey began when she founded Ayo Van Elmar, an African luxury brand she built and led for 12 years across Europe and Africa. In 2020, she chose to deepen her leadership lens with an Executive MBA at HEC Paris…

Lisa is what she lovingly calls a “disaster expert”—by education and by experience. With a degree in geography, she started out studying natural disasters, only to later navigate some very human ones herself. After leading an ambitious entertainment restaurant in Vienna that ultimately failed, she rebuilt her life and career from the ground up…

Lab'Oratoire is a French-speaking/International creative Lab' that develops bold, raw, and collective theatre and short film projects. Through in-depth acting training and shared artistic practice, the Lab' fosters meaningful stage and screen creations rooted in experimentation, collaboration, and artistic rigour. Founded in 2025, Lab'Oratoire is a Vienna-based association dedicated to…

SaWaShea – The Green Gold for your Wellbeing was founded by Otalia and is a social enterprise selling handmade shea butter, produced by the women cooperative Wobeh. The idea for SaWaShea took-off, when the founder traveled to the northern region of her home country of Cote D’Ivoire to network with five cooperatives producing shea butter…

Miriam Mona Mukalazi holds a PhD in Political Science with a specialisation in the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda of the African Union and the European Union. She leads the Africa Policy Programme at the Vienna Institute for International Dialogue and Cooperation (VIDC), where her work focuses on Africa–Europe…