Isabella Ghassemi-Smith

Isabella Ghassemi-Smith is Head of Aurora Ventures and the Aurora Tech Award, an early-stage investment programme and founder pipeline backing high-potential women-founded businesses in emerging markets. She has spent her career at the intersection of entrepreneurship and capital, leading brand and growth strategy at Wayra UK, Telefónica's corporate venture arm, and at SeedLegals, where she worked directly with early-stage founders navigating their first fundraising rounds. Her experience forms the basis of her conviction that women founders in emerging markets are one of the most consistently mispriced opportunities in venture.