Building confidence: Léa Perles on the EIC Women Leadership Programme
- ›Léa Perles from Brenus Pharma credits the EIC Women Leadership Programme with giving her the confidence and tools to share her vision and grow as an executive.
- ›Brenus Pharma is in phase 1 clinical trials for a colorectal cancer immunotherapy, with results expected in the second half of 2026.
- ›Since 2021 the programme has engaged more than 300 women across Europe and combines training, mentoring, coaching, and networking.
- ›The programme targets both advanced entrepreneurs and researchers but is limited to women connected to EIC or EIT funding instruments and does not provide direct financial support.
Building confidence: Léa Perles on the EIC Women Leadership Programme
The EIC Women Leadership Programme has positioned itself as a practical intervention to support women leaders in deep tech and science driven startups. Léa Perles, Strategic Operations Lead at Brenus Pharma and part of the programme's 8th cohort, describes it as the moment she found the confidence to present her leadership vision and to push the company through its next commercial and regulatory milestones. Her testimony illustrates what the programme delivers in practice and where the limits remain.
From bench to first-in-patient trials: Brenus Pharma’s mission
Brenus Pharma is developing a next generation of immunotherapies for solid tumours. The company says its approach aims to "educate the immune system" so it can better identify and destroy evolving tumour cells. Brenus advanced its first product into phase 1 clinical trials in colorectal cancer and expects safety results in the second half of 2026. The company closed a Series A funding round in September 2024 and is preparing a second round of financing as it works through regulatory and development challenges.
Why Léa applied and what she gained
Léa had tracked the EIC Women Leadership Programme for two years and applied when a cohort was explicitly tailored to advanced entrepreneurs at her stage. At the time Brenus had just finished a Series A and was facing regulatory and company development hurdles. Léa says the programme arrived when she needed external perspectives on leadership and career development she could not easily find inside a small company.
Her main takeaways were practical and psychological. She lists confidence in presenting a strategic vision, clearer understanding of leadership positioning in an executive role, and better negotiation and fundraising skills. She also emphasised the ongoing value of peer networks formed during the cohort with women in similar stages who continue to exchange experiences.
Programme structure and methods
Formats mix virtual and in person moments. Cohorts begin with needs assessments so sessions are shaped to participants' profiles. For advanced entrepreneurial cohorts the emphasis is on leadership, investor readiness and business development tools that can be applied immediately.
| Metric | Figure | Notes |
| Women reached by the EIC Women Leadership Programme | More than 300 | Since programme launch in 2021 |
| EIC Business Acceleration Services one-on-one meetings | +20,000 | Matches between EIC awardees and corporates, procurers and investors since 2021 |
| Deals reported via EIC BAS | 595 | Number of deals linked to EIC BAS activities |
| Investor outreach attributed raise | EUR 350 million | Funds raised linked to investor outreach |
| EIC Scaling Club reported raise since joining | EUR 1.2 billion | Reported by EIC Scaling Club members |
| Procurement value raised through innovation procurement support | EUR 7.7 million | Since March 2024, out of EUR 28.4 million in submitted tenders |
| Pilots supported after matches | 22 ongoing and 16 completed | Supported with EUR 1.93 million in pilot funding |
Eligibility, costs and obligations
The EIC Women Leadership Programme is open to women who are part of EIC or EIT supported organisations. Cohorts are designed either for advanced entrepreneurs or researcher entrepreneurs at earlier stages. There is no direct financial award attached to participation. Travel and accommodation for in person events are normally the participant's responsibility. Participants are expected to attend at least 85 percent of training sessions to receive a completion certificate.
Where the programme sits in EIC policy and wider EU efforts
Support to women innovators is an explicit objective within the EIC strategy for 2021 to 2027. The EIC combines targeted actions such as the Women Leadership Programme, Women TechEU and the European Prize for Women Innovators to improve visibility, networking and skills. The EIC reports that 30 percent of companies it supported through the Accelerator in 2024 were women led and that women coordinate a non negligible share of Pathfinder and Transition projects.
A pragmatic appraisal: strengths and limits
Participants and organisers point to clear benefits. The mix of coaching, mentoring and peer networks addresses skills gaps that many women in small deep tech companies identify. The programme also offers visibility within the EIC community which can open doors to investor and corporate meetings.
At the same time the programme is not a systemic fix. It does not provide direct funding and it is available only to people connected to specific EU programmes. The scale remains modest relative to the underlying structural gaps in venture funding, representation in senior teams, and geographic disparities across the EU. Measuring long term impact beyond participant sentiment will require sustained monitoring and publicly available outcome data on follow on funding, hires, and commercial milestones.
Practical next steps and contact information
Applications for cohorts open periodically and are announced through the EIC Community Platform and the EIC Business Acceleration Services newsletter. The next cohort was expected to open in early spring 2026 according to EIC guidance. For questions applicants can use the EIC Community contact page and select the 'EIC Women Leadership Programme' category or consult the programme FAQs.
For women leading science driven startups like Léa, the programme can be an accelerator for personal leadership development and networking. It is one instrument among many that the EIC deploys to close gender gaps. Its continued value will depend on how well it is integrated with broader funding, procurement and investor engagement efforts that translate confidence and skills into sustained company scale and patient impact.