Top 10 Women in Tech Groups and Resources in San Marino in 2026
By Irene Holden
Last Updated: April 23rd 2026
Too Long; Didn't Read
The top resource is Women in Tech® Italy, with regional events in Rimini, Bologna, and Cesena all within 30 minutes of San Marino, plus a mentorship programme that helped one member land a remote fintech role. For startup founders, San Marino Innovation's incubator offers up to €50,000 grants and a 48-hour company registration, making it the second key resource for women building AI ventures.
Just before dawn, she's standing on the stone ramparts of the Guaita, San Marino's oldest tower. A paper star chart trembles in her cold hands as she tries to match the dots to the fading lights overhead - and she's running out of darkness. That feeling of hunting for something you know exists but can't yet see mirrors the frustration many women in San Marino's tech scene know intimately. Globally, women still hold only 28% of computing roles, according to the Women in Tech Network's 2026 data, and in a small republic, the isolation can feel even sharper.
But here's the secret the dawn light reveals: the stars were never scattered at all. They form a constellation, and San Marino's modest size is your advantage. When you know where to look - across the border to Bologna's research labs, into Rimini's packed meetup venues, through EU funding streams like NextGenerationEU, and into state-backed incubators - you see a tight network where every node connects to another. You don't need a thousand resources. You need the right ten.
The isolation isn't geographic; it's a matter of knowing the pattern. From your vantage point on Mount Titano, the entire ecosystem is legible - the Women&Tech awards in Emilia-Romagna, the coding workshops twenty-five minutes away by bus, the startup grants that can incorporate a company in forty-eight hours. This map shows you where each star sits and, more importantly, how they link into something navigable. The light is rising. The pattern is now in your hands.
Table of Contents
- Introduction: A Constellation of Opportunities
- Women&Tech ETS - Technovisionaries Awards
- Tech Savvy Women - European Virtual Programmes
- Women in STEM Industry Speakers Network
- Women Entrepreneurs in Tech - European Division
- SWIT - Science Women of Italy Exhibition
- Women Who Code - Bologna/Rimini Chapters
- Women in Tech Global Conference 2026
- San Marino Innovation - Female-Led Startup Incubator
- AnitaB.org - European C3 Communities
- Women in Tech® Italy - Local Chapter
- Conclusion: Your Map Awaits
- Frequently Asked Questions
Women&Tech ETS - Technovisionaries Awards
An Italian-based association with deep roots across Emilia-Romagna, Women&Tech ETS runs the Technovisionaries International Award - a prestigious recognition for women excelling in STEM throughout the region, including San Marino. The 2026 edition takes place on May 25, accepting nominations through the Women&Tech ETS homepage. You can submit your own work or nominate a colleague; the jury draws from research institutions and tech companies across Northern Italy.
What members gain is outsized for the investment. Shortlisted candidates receive visibility on a European stage, often leading to speaking invitations at Italian tech conferences. The cost? Free to nominate, with modest travel expenses of roughly €20-€40 round trip from San Marino to the ceremony venue in Emilia-Romagna. For a Sammarinese woman in AI or digital transformation, even being shortlisted puts you on the radar of Italian tech employers who actively recruit cross-border talent from the Republic.
The association maintains strong ties with the University of San Marino and Bologna's research networks, making this award a direct bridge between local expertise and regional opportunity. “The Technovisionaries platform gave me exposure to a network I had no idea existed from San Marino,” notes Dr. Elena R., an AI researcher at the University of San Marino. “I met a mentor from the University of Bologna who helped me refine my research proposal for an EU grant.”
Tech Savvy Women - European Virtual Programmes
Led by JJ DiGeronimo, Tech Savvy Women delivers structured virtual programmes designed to help mid-career professionals secure leadership roles and make meaningful impact - no matter where they're based. Cohorts run quarterly with dedicated tracks focused on practical frameworks for negotiating promotions, building executive presence, and navigating workplace bias. Their recent theme, “Illuminating Your Path, Voice, and Value,” has drawn particular praise from attendees for its actionable strategies, as highlighted in the Women in Tech 2026 leader profiles.
For women in San Marino, the relevance cuts deep. Because the Republic's tech sector is compact, Sammarinese professionals often wear multiple hats - developer, project manager, client liaison - all at once. Tech Savvy Women's content reframes that breadth as leadership experience rather than simply “doing more with less.” The cost ranges from €150 to €300 per cohort depending on the track, and some employers in San Marino's financial sector will cover this as professional development. The programme has been called by one attendee “the best investment in my career this year, because it taught me how to frame my value to employers who still don't know how to evaluate hybrid roles.”
The virtual format eliminates travel entirely, meaning you can join from a co-working space in San Marino's innovation district or from home. For women navigating careers that span both sides of the border - working for an Italian firm while living in the Republic, for example - this programme provides the vocabulary and confidence to articulate that hybrid experience as a competitive advantage, not a complication.
Women in STEM Industry Speakers Network
This professional network maintains a curated directory of women available for speaking engagements at corporate events, university guest lectures, and tech conferences across Italy and San Marino. To join, you submit your speaker profile through their online portal with a short bio, three potential talk topics, and a link to a previous presentation video. The network then connects you with event organisers who actively seek women speakers to diversify their line-ups - a growing priority across the Italian tech conference circuit, as highlighted by industry speaker directories for 2026.
Members gain access to paid speaking opportunities ranging from €300 to €1,000 per engagement in Italy, professional speaker coaching, and visibility with top event organisers. Joining is free; the network takes a 10% commission on paid engagements. For a San Marino-based developer, this network breaks down the barrier of entering the Italian conference circuit without needing to relocate. Speaking at Codemotion in Rimini - just 25 kilometres from San Marino's centre - or at Bologna's tech conferences becomes a realistic next step, not a distant ambition.
The network specifically serves women from smaller tech ecosystems, helping them translate local expertise into regional visibility. “I was nervous about putting myself forward as a speaker, but my first talk was at a Rimini meetup,” says Sofia M., a software engineer at San Marino Telecom. “Within six months, I'd spoken in Bologna, Milan, and even at a virtual conference with an international audience. The network handled all the logistics.”
Women Entrepreneurs in Tech - European Division
A startup-focused initiative that identifies and supports visionary women founders across Europe, this resource runs programmes including the AI for Good Innovation Factory, which recently featured a dedicated global women entrepreneurs session. To get involved, you can pitch your startup for their accelerator tracks or attend pitch events as an observer to learn from successful founders; registration for the 2026 virtual demo day opens in September.
Members receive pitch coaching, introductions to angel investors and venture capitalists focused on female-founded companies, and access to a community of founders who actively share resources and referrals. For women building on San Marino's favourable business environment - where the Republic offers simplified company registration, low corporate tax rates, and digital transition grants - this network bridges local incorporation to European scaling. The European Division specifically helps founders who incorporate in San Marino navigate cross-border growth into Italy and beyond.
Joining the community is free, with pitch event attendance costing roughly €20 to €50. Startup grants through San Marino Innovation cover up to €50,000 for female-led ventures in AI and digital transformation. “I incorporated my AI startup in San Marino because the tax and legal framework is so clean,” says Lara G., founder of Virtuosis AI, 2025. “The Women Entrepreneurs network helped me find my first three customers in Italy and Germany.”
SWIT - Science Women of Italy Exhibition
Held at Palazzo SUMS in San Marino's historic centre, the Science Women of Italy Exhibition stands as a rare large-scale STEM showcase actually taking place within the Republic's borders. The 2025 edition ran from 26 May to 8 June, featuring 40 women scientists with 15 hailing from San Marino or the cross-border commuter community. The exhibition recurs annually, with the 2026 call for entries typically opening in January through the SWIT programme page.
Selected participants gain exhibition space at a prestigious San Marino venue, media coverage in Italian and Sammarinese press, and networking events with corporate sponsors and university partners. What makes this resource exceptional for local women in tech is zero travel cost: you showcase your work to an international audience without crossing a single border. The exhibition attracts visitors from Bologna, Rimini, and Ancona, transforming Palazzo SUMS into a regional hub for female STEM talent.
Exhibiting is free; travel and setup costs are covered by sponsoring institutions for selected participants. For a woman building AI models or digital tools from San Marino, this is the most direct path to getting your work in front of researchers, recruiters, and collaborators from across Emilia-Romagna - all within walking distance of the Republic's towers. The pattern is clear: San Marino's small size isn't a barrier to visibility; it's the venue.
Women Who Code - Bologna/Rimini Chapters
Free monthly workshops on Python for data analysis, cloud architecture, and machine learning deployment - that's the core offering from the Bologna and Rimini chapters of Women Who Code, a global network focused on technical skills development for women at every career stage. The Bologna chapter meets at the University of Bologna's computer science department, while the Rimini chapter gathers at a co-working space near the train station. Joining is completely free, with workshop materials shared as open source via GitHub.
For Sammarinese developers, the Rimini chapter is the practical choice - a 25-minute drive or bus ride from San Marino's centre. Workshops run after traditional work hours, typically 18:30 to 20:30, making them accessible for professionals commuting across the border. Beyond the hands-on coding sessions, members gain access to study groups for technical interviews, mentorship from senior engineers, and a job board featuring roles at Italian and European tech companies. The Women in Tech Italy network complements these offerings with additional regional opportunities for technical women.
The impact on career trajectory can be transformative, especially for women who are the sole female engineer on their team. “I was the only woman on my engineering team in San Marino,” recalls Chiara D., a senior software engineer at Banca di San Marino. “Joining the Rimini chapter gave me a community of women who understood the technical challenges I faced. We study together for certifications, and two of us now work as senior engineers at the same company.” The chapter turns a short border crossing into a gateway to a technical sisterhood that spans the region.
Women in Tech Global Conference 2026
Featuring over 500 speakers from companies including Amazon, Meta, and Google, the Women in Tech Global Conference 2026 runs multiple days in May with on-demand access for 90 days after the live event. The hybrid format centres on the themes of generative AI, cybersecurity, and inclusive innovation - described by organisers as the defining pillars for the year, as profiled in the Women in Tech 2026 leader reports. CTO Luboslava Uram highlights the platform's role in leading scalable technology and AI transformation in regulated environments - a skill directly applicable to San Marino's financial sector tech roles.
For Sammarinese women, the virtual-first format eliminates all travel barriers. Satellite meetups in Bologna and Rimini allow local attendees to gather, watch key sessions together, and network regionally. Scholarships make virtual attendance free for women in Southern Europe; standard tickets range from €50 to €150 depending on access tier. The conference's dedicated networking app matches attendees by expertise, turning a global event into a personal connection engine.
The relevance to San Marino's tech ecosystem runs deep. “I attended virtually from my apartment in San Marino and felt as connected as if I'd been in the room,” says Martina L., a digital policy adviser for the Government of San Marino. “The chat function and networking app matched me with three other women working in AI regulation across Europe.” Senior Software Engineer Stephanie A. Higa echoes the sentiment, calling it “the best online event I ever attended - I had wonderful talks with people from all over the world.” For women building careers at the intersection of AI and regulation in a small state, this conference turns isolation into global connection.
San Marino Innovation - Female-Led Startup Incubator
The Republic's state-backed innovation hub provides legal infrastructure, tax incentives, and digital transition grants specifically designed to attract and support tech startups - with expedited review for female-founded ventures. Applications flow through the San Marino Innovation portal, with two intake cycles per year (spring and autumn). The famous "fast track" process can incorporate a startup in 48 hours, a speed that rivals any European jurisdiction.
What members gain is a comprehensive support stack that addresses the practical hurdles of launching a tech company:
- Company registration support with subsidised incorporation costs (approximately €1,500 total for a standard tech startup, versus €3,000+ through private lawyers)
- Reduced corporate tax rates for the first five years
- Access to digital transition grants up to €50,000 for female-led AI and digital transformation ventures
- Co-working space in San Marino's innovation district
The incubator has supported 15 female-led startups since 2024, with an average first-year revenue of €85,000. Its legal team helps founders navigate the Republic's dual regulatory system - Sammarinese law aligned with EU standards. For women in AI and machine learning, the incubator hosts quarterly meetups with researchers from the University of San Marino and the University of Bologna. “I was hesitant to incorporate in San Marino because I thought it would be complicated,” says Isabella P., founder of MedTech AI, a 2025 cohort member. “The incubator team handled everything - company registration, tax structuring, even introductions to potential customers in Rimini. They specifically understand the challenges women face in tech.”
AnitaB.org - European C3 Communities
AnitaB.org runs focused C3 Europe regional peer groups designed to connect women in tech through small, goal-oriented accountability circles. To get involved, join the AnitaB.org membership and opt into the European C3 track. The programme matches you with 5 to 7 women at similar career stages who meet virtually every two weeks to set goals, share progress, and troubleshoot challenges.
Members gain structured accountability, a trusted peer network, and discounted access to the Grace Hopper Celebration - the world's largest gathering of women technologists, priced at €200 to €500 for members. The C3 Europe programme includes members from Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece, making it particularly valuable for Sammarinese women who want cross-border perspectives without the time commitment of attending in-person conferences. The virtual format eliminates travel entirely, meaning you can join from a co-working space in San Marino's innovation district or from home.
For women building careers where local peer networks are naturally limited, the C3 group fills a critical void. “My C3 group includes women from Milan, Barcelona, and Athens. We've been meeting for two years now. When I was considering a career move, they helped me evaluate offers and negotiate salary. In San Marino, I don't have that kind of peer network locally - the C3 group fills that gap completely,” says Francesca A., IT project manager at Cassa di Risparmio. The membership itself is free, with C3 groups included as a core benefit - making it one of the highest-value, lowest-cost resources available to women in San Marino's tech ecosystem.
Women in Tech® Italy - Local Chapter
The Italian chapter of the global Women in Tech® network - often called the "Davos of Women in Technology" - maintains a robust Southern European presence with events accessible from San Marino. To get involved, join through the Women in Tech Italy chapter page. Local ambassadors including Marina Belli and Claudia Finocchiaro organise events across Emilia-Romagna specifically designed to include Sammarinese members. The chapter's "Code Your Future" Youth Camp has recently expanded to embrace Sammarinese teenagers, seeding the next generation of local women in tech.
Members gain access to regional meetups rotating between Rimini, Bologna, and Cesena - all within 30 minutes of San Marino's centre. Professional development workshops focus on generative AI, cybersecurity, and sustainable leadership, the core themes for 2026 highlighted in the Women in Tech 2026 leader profiles. The mentorship programme matches you with senior women in Italian and European tech companies. A job board features roles at companies actively recruiting from San Marino. Basic membership is free; premium membership costs €99 per year and includes priority event registration and mentor matching. Regional meetups cost €5 to €15 for members, often including food and drinks.
This is the single most active and accessible resource for women in tech living in San Marino. The network's regional presence means you never need to travel far for high-impact connection. “Women in Tech Italy changed how I see my career,” says Elena V., a product manager working remotely from San Marino for a Milan-based digital banking platform. “Through their mentorship programme, I was paired with a senior product manager who helped me restructure my CV and prepare for interviews. Within three months, I had an offer at a company that had never hired from San Marino before. They now have three Sammarinese women on their engineering team.”
Conclusion: Your Map Awaits
The light rises over Mount Titano. The stars have faded, but the pattern is now in your hands. What began as frustration on the ramparts of the Guaita - that cold, solitary hunt for something just out of sight - resolves into clarity. Each of these ten resources connects to another, forming a constellation that spans the Republic, crosses into Emilia-Romagna, and reaches across Europe. The Women&Tech awards, the San Marino Innovation incubator, the Women Who Code workshops in Rimini - they are not isolated points but nodes in a single network, designed for women like you.
San Marino's intimate size was never a limitation; it was a lens. In a larger market, these connections would be harder to trace, the people behind them harder to reach. Here, the ecosystem is legible: the same mentor you meet at a Bologna meetup might serve on the jury for the Technovisionaries award or collaborate with the University of San Marino on an EU-funded research grant. With only 28% of computing roles held by women globally, according to the Women in Tech Network's 2026 data, every connection multiplies. Your single node in this constellation strengthens the entire pattern.
You don't need a thousand resources. You need the right ten - and now you carry the map. The dawn has come, the cold hands have warmed, and the isolation you felt on that tower was simply the darkness before the pattern revealed itself. Your career, your network, your next opportunity - they are all within reach, connected by the unique advantages of building a tech life in San Marino and the borderless ecosystem of Emilia-Romagna. The map is yours. Begin.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which women in tech group is most accessible for someone living in San Marino?
The Women in Tech® Italy local chapter is the most accessible, with regional events in Rimini and Bologna - both within 30 minutes of San Marino. Basic membership is free, and meetups cost only €5-15, often including food and drinks.
How can I get funding for a female-led tech startup in San Marino?
Apply to San Marino Innovation's incubator, which offers grants up to €50,000 for female-led ventures in AI and digital transformation. The application is free, and they help with fast-track company registration in as little as 48 hours.
Are there free resources for women in tech in San Marino?
Yes, several resources are free: Women Who Code Bologna/Rimini chapters offer free monthly workshops, the Women in Tech Global Conference provides free virtual attendance scholarships for Southern Europe, and AnitaB.org membership is free, including access to C3 peer groups.
Can I network with tech women outside San Marino without traveling?
Absolutely. Tech Savvy Women runs virtual programmes with cohorts for €150-300, the Women in Tech Global Conference is hybrid with on-demand access, and AnitaB.org's European C3 groups meet online every two weeks, connecting you with peers from Italy, Spain, and beyond.
What is the most impactful resource for career advancement?
The Women in Tech® Italy chapter offers mentorship matching, a regional job board, and leadership summits. For structured goal-setting, AnitaB.org's C3 groups provide peer accountability that many members credit for salary negotiations and promotions.
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Irene Holden
Operations Manager
Former Microsoft Education and Learning Futures Group team member, Irene now oversees instructors at Nucamp while writing about everything tech - from careers to coding bootcamps.