EIC and EIT relaunch European Prize for Women Innovators to broaden reach and boost visibility

Brussels, June 15th 2023

Summary

›The European Innovation Council and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology relaunched the European Prize for Women Innovators on 15 June 2023.
›Three prize strands were defined: Women Innovators, Rising Innovators under 35, and an EIT Women Leadership award, with cash prizes up to EUR 100 000.
›Applications opened 15 June 2023 and closed 27 September 2023 through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and winners were due to be announced at the EIC Summit in March 2024.
›The initiative is framed as recognition plus networking and aims to reduce systemic barriers for women in tech and business, though awards alone will not solve structural problems.
›The call set clear eligibility and submission rules including a 15 page Part B, a 90 second video, and preselection and jury review processes managed by EISMEA and EIT.

EIC and EIT relaunch the European Prize for Women Innovators

On 15 June 2023 the European Innovation Council and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology announced a revamped European Prize for Women Innovators. The competition aims to raise the visibility of women-led breakthrough innovations and to create role models while offering financial awards and networking opportunities. The relaunch packages the prize as part of wider efforts to reduce barriers to women’s participation in technology, entrepreneurship and leadership roles across the EU and countries associated to Horizon Europe.

What the revamped prize covers

The joint EIC and EIT initiative groups awards into three categories to target different stages and affiliations. The competition mixes recognition with modest financial support and community-building measures. Winners were scheduled to be announced at the European Innovation Council Summit in March 2024.

Category	Who can apply	Top prize	Runners-up
Women Innovators	Women founders or co-founders established in the EU or Horizon Europe associated countries	EUR 100 000	EUR 70 000 and EUR 50 000
Rising Innovators	Promising women innovators under 35 at the start of the call year	EUR 50 000	EUR 30 000 and EUR 20 000
EIT Women Leadership	Women with a direct link to the EIT Community or one of its Knowledge and Innovation Communities	EUR 50 000	EUR 30 000 and EUR 20 000

How to apply and administrative rules

Applications opened 15 June 2023 and closed on 27 September 2023. All entries were to be submitted electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. The call was managed by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency, EISMEA, together with the EIT. Submissions had to follow strict format and admissibility rules that included administrative Part A and technical Part B, a short inspirational video, and page limits.

Submission format and limits:Applicants had to provide Application Form Part A online and a Part B document with the technical description. Part B was limited to 15 pages. A supporting inspiring video of up to 90 seconds and maximum 100 MB was mandatory and had to be uploaded as a .zip file. Incomplete or noncompliant submissions risked being declared inadmissible.

Where to apply and support:Applications were routed through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Questions about the Women Innovators and Rising Innovators categories were to be sent to EISMEA-WIP@ec.europa.eu. Questions on the EIT category went to eit-awards@eit.europa.eu.

Eligibility and selection mechanics

The call specified nationality, organisational and corporate age rules. Applicants must be women natural persons who are founders or co‑founders of organisations legally established in EU Member States, including overseas countries and territories, or in countries associated to Horizon Europe. The company or organisation had to be registered at least two years before the call year. Applicants who had already received an EU or Euratom prize for the same activities were not eligible to receive a second prize for those activities.

Rising Innovators age rule:Those applying to the Rising Innovators category had to be under the age of 35 at the start of the call year. There were no age limits for the other categories.

Evaluation and jury process:Eligible and admissible applications were evaluated against three award criteria. The process included a preselection step if more than 300 applications were received in a category. A jury of independent experts then ranked shortlisted applications. There were separate juries for the EIC categories and the EIT category. The jury considered Part A, Part B and the applicant video.

Award criteria

Breakthrough innovation:The company or organisation founded or co‑founded by the applicant should be pioneering a breakthrough and disruptive innovation. Applicants needed to explain what makes the product or service disruptive compared with existing solutions, especially in deep tech and STEM areas.

Impact:The innovation had to address a demonstrable need or challenge and show significant benefits for people and the planet. The applicant was expected to support claims with numerical performance indicators or measures of growth and impact.

Inspiration:Assessors looked for applicants who are inspirational leaders and role models. The judgement included whether the nominee had played a pivotal role in their organisation’s success and whether they actively empower other women and girls.

Context and stated purpose

EIC and EIT framed the prize as both recognition and a lever for change. The agencies said the awards will highlight women innovators who are driving positive change for people and the planet and will help normalise women in leadership roles in tech and climate areas. The organisations positioned the prize as part of a broader effort to remove systemic barriers to women in business and technology.

Statements from EU leaders:Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice‑President for a Europe Fit for the Digital Age, said the award will inspire Europe and women innovators and that it aims to remove barriers to women in business and tech. Margaritis Schinas, Vice‑President for Promoting our European Way of Life, framed the prize as evidence of the EU’s commitment to innovation and gender equality and said it brings the EIC and EIT closer together.

Evidence and the limits of prizes

The EIT referenced a study by Dealroom and Supernovas showing that more inclusive tech ecosystems deliver value. The study reported that women‑founded tech scaleups in Europe grew faster on average, with an asserted 1.2x faster growth rate and an increase in value over time that the EIT described as 6.5x since 2017 for a subset of companies. The EIT used this data to argue that unlocking female talent delivers economic benefits.

Recognition prizes and publicity can help by making role models visible and by offering networking and legitimacy. However, such prize programmes are not a substitute for systemic policy and market changes. Structural issues include persistent funding gaps at late stages of venture capital, discriminatory hiring and promotion practices, unequal access to networks and investors, and cultural barriers in STEM and entrepreneurship. The prize is one instrument among many that policy makers and ecosystem actors need to deploy to narrow structural gaps.

Operational details and transparency

Managing agencies and legal framework:The call was published under the Horizon Europe work programme and managed by EISMEA together with the EIT. It followed standard Horizon Europe rules for recognition prizes. The Funding & Tenders Portal provided the submission interface and guidance documents. Specific rules, including admissibility, exclusion and capacity checks, referenced the Horizon Europe General Annexes and EIC work programme rules.

Timeline and deadlines:Applications opened 15 June 2023 and closed 27 September 2023 at 17:00 CET. The evaluation period was scheduled between September 2023 and early 2024, with the awards planned to be announced at the EIC Summit in March 2024.

Milestone	Date
Call published and applications opened	15 June 2023
Application deadline	27 September 2023 17:00 CET
Evaluation window indicated	September 2023 to January 2024
Winners announced	Planned at EIC Summit in March 2024

Application practicalities and contacts

Applicants were asked to consult the rules of contest and the EIC 2025 work programme where relevant. The submission package included a 15 page Part B and the short video. Questions on Women Innovators and Rising Innovators were to be sent to EISMEA‑WIP@ec.europa.eu. Questions about the EIT category were to be directed to eit‑awards@eit.europa.eu.

What this prize does and does not do

The prize delivers public recognition and modest direct funding. For the winners the cash awards can be useful to accelerate product development, communication and network building. The initiative also strengthens the signal that EU institutions consider women innovators strategically important. At the same time, the amounts are limited relative to the capital needs of scaling deep tech companies. Awards and visibility do not automatically change investor behaviour, regulatory barriers, or the pipeline problems that prevent more women from reaching late stage funding or corporate leadership.

Policymakers and ecosystem actors will need to combine recognition prizes with targeted scaleup funding, investor incentives, gender aware procurement, mentoring and network programmes, and measures to reduce unconscious bias in investment decisions if they want measurable shifts in representation and outcomes.

Background on connecting initiatives

EIT activities related to women in innovation:The EIT runs programmes aimed at increasing female participation in entrepreneurship and STEM. Examples include Supernovas, Girls Go Circular, Women Entrepreneurship Bootcamp, Empowering Women in Agrifood, Strada and LEADERS. These programmes provide training, mentoring and networks to increase pipeline and leadership capabilities among women innovators.

Dealroom and Supernovas study:EIT referenced a study prepared with Dealroom that found European women‑founded tech scaleups showed faster growth metrics and a higher focus on sustainability. The EIT used the study to argue that inclusive ecosystems unlock higher innovation potential.

Final notes and caveats

The relaunch of the European Prize for Women Innovators is a recognisable and visible EU action to support women in innovation. It addresses underrepresentation mainly through recognition and networking. Those are necessary steps but they are not sufficient on their own. The success of the prize in affecting long term change will depend on follow up measures across funding, public procurement, investor training and ecosystem support that target the well documented bottlenecks women face at different stages of the innovation lifecycle.

Key documents and where to find them

Applicants and journalists were pointed to the Funding & Tenders Portal for the call files, the EIC and EIT websites, and the relevant EIC and EIT contact emails. The rules of the contest, the EIC work programme and supporting Horizon Europe annexes provide the legal and operational detail for the call.