Annual gathering at Mansion House to draw global investors and put women founders at the forefront of Ireland’s tech ecosystem.
The TechFoundHer Summit has been selected as the flagship event of Dublin Tech Week 2026, marking a significant milestone for an organisation that has become a central player in supporting women to start, lead and scale technology businesses in Ireland.
The all-day Summit will take place on Friday, 29 May in the Round Room at the Mansion House, Dublin. Now in its fourth year, the event is expected to bring together more than 300 founders, investors, ecosystem leaders and innovators from Ireland and abroad.
“We are at a critical moment. Technology is reshaping every aspect of our world and women must be part of building it”
Dublin City Council is headline sponsor of the Summit, which has established itself as a key date in the calendar for those seeking to strengthen pathways for women-led innovation and entrepreneurship.
300 women are set to raise the roof
At TechFoundHer 2025 were Elaine Patterson, Intertrade Ireland, with winners of the TechFoundHer Breakthrough Awards Victoria Finlay, Founder of MenoPal, Shelley Cowan, Founder of Travel Ease, Claire Brannigan, Founder of Skinakin and Mairin Murray, CEO TechFoundHer
TechFoundHer was founded by entrepreneur Máirín Murray with a focus on enabling more women to build scalable technology companies and use technology to address real-world challenges. The organisation works across community building, skills development, founder programmes and investor engagement.
Speaking ahead of the event, Murray said the selection of the Summit as the centrepiece of Dublin Tech Week was both symbolic and practical.
“We’re expecting over 300 women to raise the roof of the Mansion House! It’s so important that women are centre stage as part of Dublin Tech Week,” Murray said.
“The TechFoundHer Summit is about shifting the narrative and the reality of who is building the future of tech. This is where women founders step forward, take space, and lead. It’s not just about visibility; it’s about building, backing, and accelerating real innovation.”
The Summit programme will feature keynote talks, panels, founder showcases and extensive networking, with a strong emphasis on growth, capital access and global opportunity. The 2026 lineup includes an international group of founders and investors, reflecting the increasingly global ambitions of Irish technology startups.
Real people solving real problems
Opening the event will be Catherine Gray, the US-based award-winning producer of Show Her the Money, a documentary examining gender gaps in venture funding. She will be joined by global investor Erika Aquino and Silicon Valley-based serial entrepreneur Lata Setty, alongside a cohort of emerging and scaling founders from across the island of Ireland.
A central element of this year’s Summit will be the showcasing of founders from the WeBuild programme. WeBuild is led by InterTradeIreland in partnership with Invest Northern Ireland and Enterprise Ireland as part of the Shared Island Enterprise Scheme. The programme is funded by the Government of Ireland through the Shared Island Fund, with TechFoundHer acting as delivery partner.
Participating founders span multiple sectors and business models, developing technology-enabled solutions designed for international markets. Their inclusion reflects TechFoundHer’s focus on translating ambition into execution and connecting early-stage companies with the networks and capital required to scale.
The Summit also comes at a time when access to funding remains a defining issue for women-founded startups, both in Ireland and internationally. TechFoundHer positions the event as a practical response, bringing investors and founders together in a setting designed to foster meaningful engagement rather than symbolic visibility.
With Dublin Tech Week acting as a backdrop, the Summit is expected to attract a broad cross-section of the technology and investment community, including policymakers, corporate leaders and international delegates visiting the city for the wider programme.
Murray said the moment felt particularly important as technology continues to influence how economies and societies develop.
“We are at a critical moment,” Murray said. “Technology is reshaping every aspect of our world and women must be part of building it. The Summit is about optimism, ambition, and action. It’s about using tech as a force for good and ensuring women are leading that charge.”
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