PRESS RELEASE
LONDON, UK – October 22 & 23, 2025
Iceland was a nation in the spotlight at the annual Global Women Inventors & Innovators Network (GlobalWIIN) Summit and Awards Ceremony, securing multiple high-profile honors, including the Overall Diamond Award and two Honorary Special Recognition Awards.
Held at ExCel London on October 22nd and 23rd, the ceremony recognized extraordinary female leaders and innovators from diverse sectors worldwide.
Honorary Special Recognition Awards
The prestigious Honorary Special Recognition Award was presented to two influential Icelandic figures:
- Halla Tómasdóttir, The President of Iceland: Recognized for her courageous leadership, unwavering commitment to positive change, and dedicated advocacy for gender equality and inclusion. As an entrepreneur, investor, and corporate leader, her focus on radical collaboration, innovation, and sustainability sets a powerful example globally, uniquely calling for an inclusive approach to a truly gender-balanced world by also addressing issues affecting boys and men.
- Svana Gisla, Emmy and Grammy Award-Winning Producer (ABBA Voyage): Honoured for her groundbreaking work in the music and live entertainment industries. Gisla’s most significant achievement, producing ABBA Voyage, has been widely credited with revolutionizing the live experience. This phenomenon seamlessly combines digital humans (“ABBAtars”), live music, advanced lighting, robotics, and show control systems in a bespoke arena.
Icelandic Innovation on the Global Stage
Iceland’s success continued in the competitive categories:
- Overall Diamond Winner: Julie Encausse, Founder and CEO of MAREA, received the top Diamond Award for driving a circular, biotechnology-driven solution to food waste and plastic pollution. Her innovation, Iceborea, is an edible, biodegradable coating for fresh produce created by transforming residual microalgal biomass—an underutilized byproduct.
- Margrét Juliana Sigurðardóttir, Founder and CEO of Moombix, was recognized for her company’s unique, human-centric learning ecosystem tailored specifically for adult online music education. Moombix frames music as a fulfilling “lifestyle choice” for busy grownups, adjusting its content to their motivations and learning styles.
- Ragnheiður H. Magnúsdóttir, Founding Partner at Nordic Ignite, was honoured for distinguishing her angel investment firm in the Nordic and Baltic regions. The firm’s commitment to being a “patient investor”—not limited by a fixed fund-life—allows it to offer lasting, long-term support to founders.
President of the European Arm of GLOBALWIIN & Chair, KVENN, Iceland, Elinora Inga Sigurdardottir stated “As a representative of Iceland, I am particularly proud to highlight inventive women from my home country. Icelandic women have a long and impactful tradition of driving progress and creating solutions that are gaining international recognition. Let us continue to support each other and mentor the next generation. Congratulations to all the Award recipients.”
A Global Celebration of Tenacity and Impact
The summit brought together an international gathering of extraordinarily creative, inventive, and innovative entrepreneurs, leaders, scientists, engineers, technologists, and designers.
GlobalWIIN Founder Dr. Bola Olabisi affirmed the shared spirit of the awardees: “Awardees of the GlobalWIIN Award may vary, but they share certain traits: tenacity, a resolute determination to succeed, commitment, exceptional potential, positive influence that can spread across borders, and the ability to enhance the future and quality of life on our planet.”
Professor Ruth Soetendorp, Chair of the independent judging panel, noted the high standards: “This year, we were again looking for engagement with AI, commitment to sustainability, environment, climate control, cultural heritage and awareness of intellectual property rights, alongside the core criteria of originality, practicality, and financial viability.”
Supporting Innovation Worldwide
The event, supported by generous partner organizations and sponsors including ExCel London, Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA), SAMSUNG, SNIRO, KINDHIVE, Intellectual Property Awareness Network (IPAN), FF2030 of University College London, British Council, FTTI, and University of Arts London, also celebrated other notable awardees from around the globe:
- Professor Jane Harris (UK) for sustainable solutions in global textiles and apparel.
- Dr. Sara Al Reefy (Bahrain) for pioneering Oncoplastic Breast Surgery.
- Norazian Mohamed Noor (Malaysia) for a Smart Air Quality Forecasting Tool.
- Dr. Melis Eda Ekinci (UK) for gynaecological health tech with Woost.
- Maria Conceicao (UAE) for innovative humanitarian work lifting children out of poverty.
- Chloe Cho (South Korea) for creating dynamic, impactful media content for international
- Markets
- Ngozi Oyewole (Nigeria) for IP awareness therefore winning the Gold Award by IPAN
- Hazha Hassan (Iraq) for the engineered solution that transforms poultry manure waste into high-quality organic fertilisers.