About
Adela founded ZÉLIE to put the people back into business. For years she has worked where women build, lead and invest, and she kept asking why their stories were so rarely told in full.
Business was never meant to be separate from people.
Adela founded ZÉLIE out of an interest in the relationship between people and business. Entrepreneurship is often understood through economic outcomes, yet every business is also shaped by personal histories, social relationships, cultural contexts and individual choices.
ZÉLIE brings these dimensions into the conversation, exploring women’s experiences of entrepreneurship and impact through their own perspectives, while connecting their knowledge with the questions of aspiring women.
Five themes.
Conversations with women entrepreneurs
As a research assistant at the University of Auckland, Adela developed case studies on women running businesses in construction, marketing, wellness and climate technology. She analysed interviews to compare how women and men entrepreneurs describe their work, and presented the findings in Stockholm.
Financial confidence among women
At EWA Global in Brussels, Adela supported international programmes for women’s financial education and sponsorships for international NGOs, and carried out research on women’s financial confidence.
Investment readiness
At New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, Adela supported start-ups in technology, healthcare, consumer products and climate, developing the materials and research used to introduce them to overseas investors.
Community development
At the University of Auckland Women in Business, Adela led and developed professional events for women students, from panels with corporate speakers on leadership, finance and technology to a forum for 200 people on authentic leadership and growth. Across the events, more than 400 people took part. At Manzana, a co-working space for women and under-represented business owners, she ran daily operations and organised events and monthly meetings.
Entrepreneurship education
Adela is a candidate on the Erasmus Mundus Master in Impact Entrepreneurship, taught across Croatia, Lithuania and Belgium.
ZÉLIE
In October 2026 Adela started ZÉLIE, an independent organisation dedicated to women’s economic empowerment and women of impact worldwide, starting with Europe. She is sitting down with 100 women of impact. An online community, in-person events and co-creation retreats follow.
If you run a business or lead something that matters, Adela would like to hear from you.