Zimi Zawacha (Italy) received the Monte-Carlo “Woman of the Year” Award 2023, while Manila Di Giovanni (Monaco) received the Monte-Carlo “Woman of the Year” Award 2023 for her achievements in Monaco at a ceremony in Monte-Carlo on Friday, March 24. The Monte-Carlo “Woman of the Year” Special Award 2023 was won by Leanne Robers (Singapore).
HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco and HSH Princess Charlene of Monaco, the honorary President of the Award, met the prizewinners who alongside Cinzia Sgambati-Colman, President and Founder of the Monte-Carlo Woman of the Year Award, and Ornella Barra, Chief Operating Officer – international, Walgreens Boots Alliance.
Zimi Sawacha, married and the mother of three children, is currently Associate Professor at the Department of Information Engineering of the University of Padua. She is also co-founder (2017) of BBSoF s.r.l, a start-up of Padua University. Her research activity is mainly focused on the biomechanics of human movement, with particular emphasis on professional athletes and the prevention of knee cruciate ligament rupture and on musculoskeletal modelling applied to Parkinson’s disease.
Her scientific results include 40 articles published in peer-reviewed journals and more than 200 publications in international conference proceedings. Her research focuses on foot biomechanics applied to diabetic foot prevention.
Manila Di Giovanni is the 22-year-old founder and CEO of DWorld, a tech start-up that has created the world’s first ever virtual twin for a country. During her studies at the International University of Monaco, Manila discovered the latest technologies in China as an exchange student. After winning several awards, she is currently the youngest female technopreneur and tech visionary based in Monaco.
Manila’s long-term mission is to build smarter, greener, and futuristic cities in the metaverse, starting with Monaco and Malta, where all the local and international stakeholders can place themselves in the virtual twin of each city that DWorld recreates. Di Giovanni’s goal is to create the first cities to have a virtual twin of themselves in the Metaverse to get an interoperable metaverse of countries and cities globally.
Leanne Robers, is an entrepreneur, start-up advisor, community builder and public speaker, and the co-founder of She Loves Tech, which is the world’s largest start-up competition and conference for women-led tech start-ups.
She Loves Tech now operates in 72 countries. They have had more than 13,000 start-ups come through their door. Companies that have gone through their programs have raised more than $300 million for businesses that are changing the world in healthtech, fintech, climate tech, and many others. Lastly, they have started to invest directly into their start-ups, which is the last piece of the puzzle. And now She Loves Tech is building a whole ecosystem to help women entrepreneurs succeed.
