At Enagás Emprende, we celebrate the International Women’s Entrepreneurship Day by highlighting the talent, vision, and leadership of the women who drive innovation and entrepreneurship within our organization and across the energy sector.
Today, November 19, Enagás Emprende joins the global celebration of the International Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, a key date to recognize the innovation and leadership of women in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. In Spain, women’s participation in entrepreneurship stands at around 20%, a figure that Enagás—committed to equality and diversity—aims to significantly increase. Every transformation begins from within, which is why today we want to highlight the dedication and talent of the women who, through their essential role in the company, actively support and promote entrepreneurship within our organization.
Meet the women at Enagás Emprende who are driving innovation and entrepreneurship through these brief interviews:
María Ochoa Cabriles, Startup Portfolio Manager
How do you see the evolution of female entrepreneurship in the energy sector?
The 2024 Entrepreneurship Map by South Summit reveals that only 20% of Spanish startups have women founders. This shows that there is still progress to be made. I believe that one of the barriers behind this low percentage is that the energy sector demands highly qualified STEM profiles—fields where female representation is still relatively low, limiting access to strategic roles and to founding companies in this sector.
How does Enagás help promote innovative projects led by women?
At Enagás, we strongly support female innovation. Our collaboration program with startups seeks to create synergies and give visibility to projects led by women. A good example was the inclusion of the “Women Entrepreneur Award” in last year’s Ingenia Energy Challenge call. Additionally, various initiatives have been launched across Enagás, and I would highlight the 2022 campaign “Ellas te lo cuentan,” aimed at showcasing female talent in the company and inspiring girls and students from an early age by giving them more female STEM role models, helping spark interest in technical careers. We firmly believe that the energy transition needs all voices and all ideas.
Follow María on LinkedIn to learn more about her.
Carmen García Márquez, Coordinator of Investments in Startups and Funds
Access to financing is one of the greatest challenges for any startup. What key advice would you give to women entrepreneurs seeking capital to scale their projects?
The first thing I would say is that raising capital isn’t only about money—it’s about leadership. It’s important to master your numbers, define your story well, and choose partners aligned with your purpose. For women, I would add something very important: claim female leadership as a differential strength, not an exception. Women entrepreneurs bring a more diverse, collaborative, and often more sustainable perspective on growth. That mindset is exactly what the innovation ecosystem needs.
Within the innovation and energy transition ecosystem in which you work at Enagás Emprende, which woman entrepreneur would you highlight as a reference and why?
One reference I would highlight is Lucille Bonnet, Managing Partner at Klima. I especially admire how she combines strategic vision and financial rigor with a deeply human and collaborative approach to entrepreneurship. She has managed to promote an investment model that not only seeks profitability but also generates real impact in the energy transition, proving that one can be demanding and empathetic at the same time.
Follow Carmen on LinkedIn to learn more about her.
Ana Aladid García, Open Innovation and Entrepreneurship Specialist
Could you share a key lesson you’ve learned from working among women entrepreneurs?
Of all the lessons, I would highlight the importance of collaboration—where sharing doubts and experiences not only provides support but sometimes unlocks solutions you hadn’t seen. Also teamwork, where two or more minds think better than one, helping broaden perspectives and detect improvement opportunities. And lastly, since not all plans are perfect, the ability to improvise, because knowing how to adapt can make all the difference in the journey.
What practical advice would you give to an entrepreneur who is about to give up?
I would advise taking a pause and reflecting on the reason that led them to start their venture, because fatigue can cloud perspective, but reconnecting with the “why” helps refocus. I would also suggest talking to someone who knows the sector and can offer an external viewpoint—sometimes opening paths you hadn’t considered. And finally, I would remind them that stopping to rethink is not failing; it’s deciding with intention how to move forward.
Our Commitment
At Enagás Emprende, we are convinced that diversity is the driving force of innovation. We will continue working to create an ecosystem where female talent shines and leads the transformation of the energy sector.
If you want to explore how female talent is transforming the energy sector and learn more about our initiatives and challenges, visit the Enagás Good New Energy blog and discover more about the women entrepreneur challenge.
Happy Women’s Entrepreneurship Day to all!
