Serhiy Tokarev’s Foundation and uBoost sum up SheLeads: three winners and 15 internships
The final of SheLeads, an educational program for girls developing skills in STEM, artificial intelligence, and entrepreneurship, took place in Kyiv. The initiative is designed to help participants turn their ideas into real products. The program was organized by uBoost and the Tokarev Foundation, founded by impact investor Serhiy Tokarev. At the end of the season, the jury selected three winners from among 20 finalists.
This year, SheLeads received 365 applications. A total of 220 participants completed the full course, 120 of whom received personalized mentoring support, while 15 have already begun internships at technology companies. Twenty girls advanced to the final in Kyiv, where they presented their projects to an expert jury. Throughout the season, 30 lecturers and mentors worked with the students.
According to Serhiy Tokarev, founder of the Tokarev Foundation, the program is less about competition and more about demonstrating the potential of a new generation.
“This is not a contest. It is proof. Ukraine will answer the question of who will rebuild the country — and SheLeads is shaping the very cohort of people who will do it. Not someday. Right now — through a prototype, a pitch, a first internship,”
Serhiy Tokarev emphasized. The program is built around practical outcomes, which is why each participant is expected to bring her idea to a working prototype.
Three projects shared first place this season:
- Iryna Terekhova presented ReGrow — biodegradable packaging made from straw with embedded microseeds that restore the soil after decomposition (mentor — Jane Klepa).
- Solomiia Andreichuk developed GymGames, a device that gamifies gym equipment (mentor — Anna Chorna).
- Sofiia Kedria worked on a technology to improve the efficiency of solar panels through solar light lensing (mentor — Oleksandra Marchenko).
According to Anastasiia Dieieva, CEO of Tokarev Foundation, each new season confirms that Ukrainian girls are ready to build the technological future.
“Every season of SheLeads brings new proof that girls in Ukraine are ready to build the technological future. We see participants come in with an idea and leave with a product, a team, and their first industry contacts. This is exactly the infrastructure of opportunity we want to build,” Dieieva said.
Some participants are already moving onto the international stage. Seven girls applied to the Technovation Girls competition, and two team projects reached the quarterfinals.
The first is RoSTEMo, an AI platform that brings together Ukrainian students, researchers, and mentors into a single STEM ecosystem. The second is LocalVest, a service that connects small businesses and startups with local investors; this project also advanced to the semifinals.
Background
SheLeads is a joint program by uBoost and Tokarev Foundation for girls interested in STEM, artificial intelligence, and entrepreneurship. Participants move from idea to prototype: they study, work with mentors, take part in pitch sessions, and compete for internships at technology companies. This season’s partners included Sigma Software Labs, Ukrainian Startup Fund, Healthy Mind, and AI HOUSE.
Tokarev Foundation is a technology-driven philanthropy organization working to develop a resilient, inclusive, and sustainable Ukraine through technology and innovation. The foundation implements projects in EdTech and HealthTech. Its founder is Serhiy Tokarev, a Ukrainian impact investor, technology entrepreneur, founder of SET University, and the driving force behind AI HOUSE.
