Wo­men In­vest at Ice­land In­nov­a­tion Week

On 30 April, Arion Bank hosted an event in partnership with IceBAN under the title Women Invest x IceBAN: Leading the Financial Revolution. The event formed part of the official programme of Iceland Innovation Week, which was held between 27-30 April. Innovation Week was opened by Benedikt Gíslason, CEO of Arion Bank, and entrepreneur Skúli Mogensen at Hvammsvík on 27 April.

It was the second time that Arion Bank has taken an active role in Iceland Innovation Week by hosting a dedicated event. Iceland Innovation Week is an annual innovation festival held in Reykjavík that brings together entrepreneurs, start-ups, investors, corporates and public sector organizations. The week features a diverse programme of events, talks and workshops, while also offering participants opportunities to form new connections and strengthen existing ones.

On this occasion, the spotlight was placed on our long-term Women Invest initiative.

Iða Brá Benediktsdóttir, Deputy CEO of Arion Bank, opened the event and introduced Women Invest, outlining the significant progress and results achieved since the initiative was launched.

She was followed on stage by Svava Björk Ólafsdóttir, CEO and founder of IceBAN, who discussed the Icelandic investment landscape and highlighted what sets it apart and makes it full of opportunities. Svava Björk also presented IceBAN and demonstrated how angel investing can provide women with a realistic pathway to participate actively in the business community and help shape the future of innovation in Iceland.

The event concluded with a panel discussion featuring Þórey Vilhjálmsdóttir Proppe, founder of Alda; Linda Björk Ólafsdóttir, the angel investor who supported Þórey; and Ásthildur Otharsdóttir, a venture capital leader who followed up on this investment. Together, they reflected on the investment journey from different perspectives and shared their insights into the opportunities, challenges and realities women face within the start-up ecosystem.

We thank all those involved and look forward to continuing to follow Iceland Innovation Week in the years to come.