Zihan Ling, 28, China

Zihan is the founder and chief executive of TechBase, the first tech accelerator for women-led start-ups in China.

She is keen to improve gender equality in the technology industry, and has initiated the first Lean In tech mentorship programme in China to boost female participation in the sector.

One tip she would give other young women who want to succeed in business: "Dare to be different!"

You can find our 30 entrepreneurs talking about their experiences in under 30 seconds each on our 30under30 special report .