Apply for the European Prize for Women Innovators

The European Prize for Women Innovators celebrates the women entrepreneurs behind Europe’s most game-changing innovations.

The prize awards women from across the EU and countries associated with Horizon Europe, whose disruptive innovations drive positive change for people and the planet.

Since 2023, the European Innovation Council (EIC) and the European Institute for Innovation & Technology (EIT) have teamed up to create a bigger and bolder European Prize for Women Innovators, with no fewer than 9 prizes to be awarded.

The call is launched in accordance with the 2024 European Innovation Council (EIC) Work Programme and is managed by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).

Prize Categories

There are three prize categories:

In the EIC Women Innovators category, three prizes of EUR 100 000, EUR 70 000, and EUR 50 000 are awarded to the three highest-ranked applications;
In the EIC Rising Innovators, three prizes of EUR 50 000, EUR 30 000, and EUR 20 000 are awarded to the three highest-ranked applications from promising ‘Rising Innovators’ under age 35.
The EIT Women Leadership Award is awarded to exceptional women leaders from the EIT Community. The winner is awarded EUR 50 000, and two runners-up are awarded EUR 30 000 and EUR 20 000 respectively.

Eligible applicants can only apply to one category. The winners are chosen by an independent expert jury.

In addition to the above, those applying for the Rising Innovators category must be aged under 35 at the start of the call year. There is no age limit to apply for the Women Innovators category (or for the EIT Women Leadership category), though applicants eligible for several prize categories can only apply to one.

Award Criteria

Eligible applications will be evaluated against 3 award criteria:

Breakthrough innovation – the company or organization founded or co-founded by the applicant is pioneering a breakthrough and disruptive innovation focusing, among others, on deep-tech and Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) fields within the EU or countries associated with Horizon Europe.
Impact – this innovation addresses a real need or challenge, with significant benefits for people and/or the planet.
Inspiration – the applicant is an inspiring leader, who has played a pivotal role in the success of the company or organization and is a role model empowering other women and girls in realizing their full potential.

Who Should Apply

All applicants must comply with the following eligibility criteria to participate:

The applicant must be a woman (Please remember you must apply as a natural person and not as a legal entity);
The applicant must be legally established in an EU Member State, including overseas countries and territories (OCTs) or a country associated to Horizon Europe;
The applicant must be the founder or co-founder of the company or organisation;
The company or organisation must be established in an EU Member State including overseas countries and territories, (OCTs) or a country associated to Horizon Europe, and registered or incorporated at least two years before 1 January 2022;
Applicants who have already received an EU or Euratom prize cannot receive a second prize for the same activities.

In addition to the above, those applying for the Rising Innovators category must be aged under 35 at the start of the call year.

There is no age limit to apply for the Women Innovators category (or for the EIT Women Leadership category), though applicants eligible for several prize categories can only apply to one.

Please consult the Rules of contest, before submitting your application.

The deadline for submission is 25 September 2024 at 17:00:00 CET.

EIC Women Innovators – Apply here
EIC Rising Innovators – Apply here
EIT Women Leadership – Apply here

Guidelines for Applicants

On 5 July 2024, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) organised an informative webinar to learn more about the European Prize for Women Innovators. You will find the recordings of the event here.

The slides are available here below:

Please consult the following documents before submitting your application:

25 September 2024 (17:00 CET) – Deadline for applications
September 2024 – February 2025 – Evaluation process
February – May 2025 – Information on evaluation results/award