EIC Women Leadership Programme kicks off 9th cohort in Brussels

On 16 September 2025 the European Innovation Council launched the ninth cohort of its EIC Women Leadership Programme with an in-person bootcamp in Brussels. The cohort brings together 29 women leaders from 16 countries and will run through 19 November 2025. The programme combines tailored leadership training, networking, mentoring and business coaching aimed at women founders and C-suite executives in science-based and deep-tech ventures.

Origins, purpose and scope

The EIC Women Leadership Programme began as a pilot in 2021. According to the EIC, across eight prior cohorts the programme has supported more than 300 female researchers and entrepreneurs. The stated goal is to level the playing field in advanced technology and science-driven entrepreneurship by closing representation gaps, improving leadership skills, and building pipelines of women who can found and scale deep-tech companies in Europe.

Who the 9th cohort is for and what participants get

The cohort targets women who are cofounders or hold executive C-suite roles, especially leaders of established start-ups and scale-ups. Training modules are tailored to profile and need. Core skills emphasised include negotiation, fundraising, team development, pitching and leadership presence. Each participant receives a personalised pairing with one mentor and access to a business coach.

Kick-off, atmosphere and participant responses

The kick-off bootcamp ran in Brussels on the sidelines of the European Research and Innovation Days. Speakers included EIC Board member Ana Barjašić and industry figures such as Corinne Vigreux, TomTom cofounder. Participants described the event as energising and useful for community building. Several attendees highlighted trust, peer support and actionable leadership takeaways as immediate benefits.

Representative comments included: Nathalie Donne of ErVimmune emphasised the value of a trusted peer space. Filipa Soares of Cell4Food said diverse experiences in the room were a source of learning. Josiane P. Lafleur of Invisible-Light Labs noted the relief of meeting peers who prioritise product and technical leadership while sharing the same professional context. Anna O'Leary of Arcella Holding highlighted the programme's role in building skills needed for confident decision-making as companies scale.

Programme timetable, obligations and selection

Participants must attend at least 85 percent of training sessions to complete the programme and receive a completion certificate. The organisers expect participants to attend the in-person kick-off. Missing two sessions consecutively without justification may result in removal from the cohort. The programme does not provide financial grants or reimburse travel and accommodation costs. Travel and accommodation are to be covered by participants.

Eligibility and application requirements

Applications are limited to women who are cofounders or hold executive leadership roles in organisations that are part of the EIC or EIT communities. Acceptable instruments and beneficiary statuses include EIC Accelerator, EIC Pathfinder, EIC Transition, EIC Scaling Club, Seal of Excellence under Horizon Europe, Women TechEU winners, and EIT Knowledge and Innovation Community programmes. Applicants must provide the EIC project ID or EIT programme/KIC name and a two page maximum CV in English.

EIC context and wider services

The Women Leadership Programme is delivered through the EIC Business Acceleration Services. The EIC presents these services as a complement to grants and equity provided under Horizon Europe and the EIC Fund. The BAS portfolio includes matchmaking with corporates, investor outreach, international trade fair participation and specialised coaching schemes.

The EIC also highlights gender-related portfolio statistics to justify targeted support. For example, 30 percent of companies supported in the EIC Accelerator in 2024 are described as women led, with 42 women-led companies recorded in that year. The EIC portfolio overall includes 134 women-led companies, representing 19 percent, according to published figures. It also reports that 24 percent of EIC Pathfinder projects and 23 percent of EIC Transition projects have women coordinators. These numbers are used to frame initiatives such as Women TechEU and the European Prize for Women Innovators that operate alongside the Women Leadership Programme.

Practical constraints and what the programme does not do

The programme is explicitly non-financial. It does not provide grants, equity or travel reimbursement. Access is selective and tied to prior EIC or EIT affiliation. For many participants the real value will depend on the quality of mentor matches, coach expertise and the strength of subsequent network links to investors and customers. The EIC presents headline impact figures for BAS activities but independent, long-term evaluation of whether cohorts increase the number of women-led companies that scale to significant market impact is not provided in the programme materials.

A critical view and open questions

Targeted leadership programmes can help skilled women accelerate into higher impact roles and reduce isolation in male-dominated sectors. The EIC programme bundles relevant elements such as coaching, mentoring and networking. However this model addresses individual capacity and peer networks rather than structural barriers that limit female entrepreneurship. Those barriers include biased investor networks, uneven access to serial founders and senior talent pools, and disparities in follow-on funding. The programme documentation lists participation and short-term skill outcomes but lacks publicly released longitudinal metrics showing whether alumni companies raise more capital, win more procurement contracts or scale faster than comparable peers.

Key questions to follow include how mentor and coach quality are assessed, how the EIC monitors the post-cohort progress of alumni, and whether learning from cohorts informs other EIC instruments such as investor readiness or procurement support. The absence of direct financial support may limit participation from women in less well funded ecosystems unless additional national or private support is available to cover travel and time costs.

How to follow, apply or get more information

Future open calls are published on the EIC Community Platform and in the EIC BAS newsletter. For questions about the Women Leadership Programme, the organisers ask interested parties to use the EIC Community contact page and choose the 'EIC Women Leadership Programme' category. The WLP team also provides an email contact for applicants and queries at hello@eicwlp.com. The programme page and FAQ provide details about eligibility, application documents and selection timelines.