The Empowering Women story actually started back more than 12 years ago. Since then, we’ve been running women-focused hackathons and entrepreneurship programs in countries like Ukraine, Kenya, Latvia, Sweden, and Afghanistan. In 2022, we brought it to Estonia. The idea has always been the same, no matter the country: to empower women. To give them the tools, skills, confidence, and courage to start building something of their own.
Ida-Viru is going through a big transformation. As Estonia moves towards a more climate-neutral economy, the region is changing fast. Old industries are disappearing, and with that, jobs are changing too. People need to reskill, adapt, and find new opportunities. And women, especially, need stronger support to stay active in the workforce and feel confident stepping into new roles. At the same time, Ida-Viru has one of the lowest participation rates in lifelong learning among adults and lower employment rates than other regions. This means one thing: there is a real need for new skills, new ideas, and new opportunities. This is exactly why Garage48 is here.
Küllike Kullerkupp (Jõhvi Municipality):
"Ida-Virumaa is an inspiring place with diverse people. This program gives them a chance to test ideas, learn, and connect, while building confidence and working together on real solutions, while strengthening the local community."
Kätlin Merisalu (//kood): "This project is not just to empower women, but it’s about giving women in Ida-Virumaa real access to the tech and entrepreneurship space. It proves that the barrier is not ability, but access and opportunity… The biggest challenge is not technology, it’s shifting mindsets. Many participants come in thinking “this is not for me,” and within only 48 hours they are building solutions, pitching ideas, and thinking like founders. Creating that shift is intentional work."
Maria Yarotska (Host of the Garage48 Empowering Women Hackathon): "Working with Ida-Virumaa women has been inspiring- they are both resilient and adaptable in a way that feels powerful rather than contradictory. They navigate challenges with strength while staying open to change and growth."
It was great to see that the interest in the event was strong, even beyond Estonia. We received applications and messages from different countries, and honestly, it was tough to say no to many cool candidates. For us, it’s important that a hackathon brings together people from different backgrounds: business minds, idea owners, developers, designers. That’s what makes it work. That’s how real teams are formed. This is also the magic of a Garage48 hackathon. Even if you show up alone with just an idea, you’re not alone for long. If your idea has potential, you will find your team on the spot.
This time, we were especially supported by //kood and their students. Thanks to them, every team found someone with tech skills. And yes, while vibecoding was used, having real programming skills made a big difference in building more unique and functional solutions.
From ideas to prototypes
And then it was time to kick things off.. On Friday evening, 14 ideas were pitched, and 9 teams continued into the hackathon.
Since we had so many strong applicants, and some last-minute cancellations, we decided to make a quick change and run the event in a hybrid format. This allowed people to still pitch their ideas and participate remotely, working with mentors online throughout the weekend.
It was great to see that teams actually used this opportunity. Some worked fully online, while others combined forces: on-site teams collaborating with remote team members who contributed from behind their screens. Of course, nothing beats being there in person, and hybrid setups can be a bit tricky, especially when they’re not planned from the start. But overall, it worked out well, and we’re glad we made that decision.
And this was also very cool that many teams focused on solving local challenges in Ida-Viru. For example, the winning team LIIK worked on a solution for Kohtla-Järve, building an app that makes it easier for people to access sports activities and infrastructure.
Why do participants recommend joining Garage48 Empowering Women hackathon?
Anette-Aleksandra Tamm (Team EasyTravel): “ I took on a completely different role than I expected and succeeded in it, but was also allowed to fail and ask for help. Everyone here is very friendly, motivated and supportive. It’s just two days, but you meet amazing people, hear inspiring ideas, and discover your own abilities in a very supportive space. There is nothing to lose by joining, it’s always better than a “what if…”
Helen Anijalg (Team Drivory): "To step out of your comfort zone is a rewarding experience."
Ilona Maharramova (Team LIIK): "Don’t wait until you feel “ready”, hackathon is exactly the place where you become ready."
All teams did an amazing job, and it wasn’t easy to choose the winners. It may sound like a cliché, but honestly: you are all winners. But in the end, our jury had to make the tough decision. And here they are..
Meet our winning teams! 🏆
🥇 LIIK - A city-level platform that brings sports activities, clubs, and schedules into one place, allowing users to easily find and book sports facilities while helping improve the use of existing infrastructure.
Team LIIK. Photo by Maido Parv.
🥈 KoDu - A build tracker and interior design tool that helps future homeowners follow construction progress and manage design decisions in one place, similar to a step-by-step tracker.
Team KoDu. Photo by Maido Parv.
🥉 EasyTravel - A smart travel planning tool that generates weather-adapted itineraries so users can make the most of their trip regardless of changing conditions.
And meet our other awesome teams as well..
- Drivory is building an AI-powered driving companion that helps you discover interesting places along your route, complete with historical insights and audio guides.
- Lihtsalt Tehtud (LT) is working on a solution to help NGOs bridge the digital gap by automating social media content creation for organizations that need it most.
- Service Clarity AI helps service providers better explain what they actually do, using AI to evaluate and improve clarity in their messaging.
- Digital Inclusion focuses on supporting elderly people in navigating digital services like Smart-ID and identity verification.
- Quoto is creating a platform to simplify how municipalities and organizations manage grants, contracts, and reporting, all in one place.
- ONEJOB is developing a SaaS platform for service companies to manage their daily operations through one smart workflow system.
As the winning team LIIK shared: “We came in with an idea, but no clear way to solve it. In 48 hours, it grew into something much bigger: not just a solution, but a mission with real social impact for Ida-Viru. With the right team and mentor support, we realised that anything is possible.
Team EasyTravel shared: “In the end, we gained a lot of confidence, made new connections (and future friends), and realised that its actually possible to work really well under time pressure - it’s amazing how much you can get done in such a short time."
What’s next? All teams were invited to join the Garage48 Empowering Women accelerator.
Now they’ll keep developing their ideas with the help of workshops and mentors. The hackathon gave them the first push, and now it’s time to keep the momentum going. We’re excited to see how far they’ll go by the end of May! 🚀
A big applause to all the teams, mentors, and organizers who made this hackathon possible. We could not have done it without you! 💖
Hackathon organizers and mentors.
A huge shoutout to //kood, Ida-Viru Ettevõtluskeskus (IVEK), Jõhvi city, Narva city, University of Tartu Narva College, Ida-Viru County Vocational Training Centre, and all others for spreading the word and encouraging people to join our hackathon. 🙌
And don’t miss our aftermovie, it perfectly captures the hackathon vibe. Big thanks to MarijaVie for nailing it! 😍
The hackathon is part of the kood/Garage48: Empowering Women project, run by Garage48 together with Koodtech. This project is co-funded by the European Union under the Just Transition Fund. And a big thank you to LHV, Latitude59, Loginet, and Belief Energy Water for supporting our hackathon!
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