Fourteen finalists named for the EU Prize for Women Innovators 2022
- ›The European Innovation Council shortlisted 14 finalists for the EU Prize for Women Innovators 2022 across two categories.
- ›Three main prizes of €100 000 each are allocated for Women Innovators and three additional prizes for Rising Innovators under 35 were set at €50 000 each.
- ›Final winners were due to be announced at the EIC Summit on 7 and 8 December 2022.
- ›The prize aims to raise the profile of women founders, but critics note awards help visibility more than solve structural funding gaps for scaling deep tech companies.
EU Prize for Women Innovators 2022: who made the shortlist
On 21 November 2022 the European Innovation Council published a shortlist of 14 finalists for the ninth edition of the EU Prize for Women Innovators. The prize recognises women entrepreneurs whose companies are commercialising innovations covering areas such as healthcare, sustainable food ingredients, inclusive social services and mobility. The contest is funded by the European Innovation Council under Horizon Europe.
How the contest is structured and what is at stake
The 2022 edition awards three main prizes of €100 000 each to winners in the Women Innovators category. To mark the European Year of Youth, the Commission also committed three prizes of €50 000 each for “Rising Innovators” under 35. Winners were scheduled to be announced at the European Innovation Council Summit on 7 and 8 December 2022 alongside other EIC prizes and awards.
The finalists: companies, technologies and aims
Below is a consolidated list of the 14 finalists named by the EIC in November 2022. The entries combine the information the EIC published with brief contextual notes about the companies and the technologies they are developing. Where appropriate the description flags areas that will require clinical validation, regulatory clearance or scale to have broader impact.
| Name | Country | Company | Role | Short description of innovation | Category |
| Rocío Arroyo | Spain | AMADIX | Co-founder and CEO | Blood‑based personalized medicine solutions for early colorectal cancer detection using biomarkers and AI driven models. | Women Innovators |
| Dr Ciara Clancy | Ireland | Beats Medical | Founder and CEO | Digital and sensor technology platform to assess and treat mobility symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease. | Women Innovators |
| Dr Lorena Diéguez | Portugal | RUBYnanomed | Co-founder and CEO | Microfluidic RUBYchip for non-invasive liquid biopsy and real time monitoring of cancer progression. | Women Innovators |
| Dr Sara Abalde-Cela | Portugal | RUBYnanomed | Co-founder and CTO | Technical lead on RUBYchip microfluidics and diagnostics. | Women Innovators |
| Paulina Piairo | Portugal | RUBYnanomed | Co-founder and COO | Commercial and operations lead for RUBYnanomed's non-invasive cancer monitoring device. | Women Innovators |
| Dr Ninna Granucci | France | Green Spot Technologies | Co-founder and President | Industrial fermentation and upcycling of food industry side streams into functional food ingredients. | Women Innovators |
| Natalia Tomiyama | Germany | NÜWIEL | Co-founder and Managing Director | Electric powered bike trailers with a zero-force sensor for synchronized acceleration and braking to support urban logistics. | Women Innovators |
| Maria Vircikova | Slovakia | MATSUKO | Co-founder and CEO | Holographic presence app delivering real time 3D holograms for immersive communication and remote meetings. | Women Innovators |
| Zarah Bruhn | Germany | socialbee | Co-founder and CEO | Social enterprise supporting companies to recruit and integrate refugees into the workforce. | Rising Innovators (under 35) |
| Niamh Donnelly | Ireland | Akara Robotics | Co-founder and CRO | Robotic systems and autonomous UV disinfection robots for hospital room decontamination and operational data capture. | Rising Innovators (under 35) |
| Dr Alicja Dzieciol | Poland | SilviBio | Co-founder and Director | Peat free and water efficient propagation mixes and products to reduce the impact of water scarcity on tree seeds and seedlings. | Rising Innovators (under 35) |
| Iva Gumnishka | Bulgaria | Humans in the Loop | Founder and CEO | Social enterprise that links conflict‑affected communities to remote digital work, delivering ethical data annotation services. | Rising Innovators (under 35) |
| Victoria Mandefield | France | Solinum | Founder and CEO | Digital platform Soliguide that lists services and resources to help people in vulnerable situations access assistance. | Rising Innovators (under 35) |
| Dr Mehak Mumtaz | Portugal | iLoF | Co-founder and COO | Photonics and AI platform building a library of optical blood fingerprints to accelerate personalised drug discovery and non invasive screening tests. | Rising Innovators (under 35) |
What the prize is intended to achieve and the wider context
The EU Prize for Women Innovators was launched in 2011 to highlight female founders and create role models. The European Commission frames the prize as part of wider gender equality priorities and of efforts to create inclusive innovation ecosystems. In its announcement Commissioner Mariya Gabriel said support for women entrepreneurs is good for growth, people and the planet. That framing is consistent with EU policy that treats diversity and inclusion as instruments for widening participation in innovation.
Selection, governance and transparency
The prize is managed by the European Innovation Council and the SME Executive Agency and winners are selected by an independent jury. The contest accepts applications from women who are founders or co‑founders of companies established in EU Member States or countries associated to Horizon Europe. The companies must typically be registered at least two years before the call year to be eligible for the main category. For the Rising Innovators category applicants must be under 35 at the start of the call year.
Statistics and the European Commission’s stated goals
The EIC announcement cited a persistent gender imbalance in European startups. It noted that roughly three quarters of startups are founded by men and only about 8 percent are founded by all women teams. The Commission says closing those gaps is part of its objective of achieving a Union of Equality and of building fair, inclusive and prosperous innovation ecosystems across Member States and associated countries.
What to watch next and implications
The immediate milestone was the winners announcement at the EIC Summit in early December 2022. Beyond the ceremony, the practical test for the programme is whether highlighted founders convert the visibility into measurable outcomes such as funding rounds, commercial partnerships and scaled deployments. The prize also functions as a policy signalling tool that surfaces areas where the Commission wants to focus ecosystem support, for example healthcare diagnostics and green food ingredients.
Prize history and reach
First launched in 2011, the EU Prize for Women Innovators has recognised over 30 winners and shortlisted more than 100 women entrepreneurs since its inception. The Commission highlights these past winners as role models intended to inspire more women and girls to pursue leadership in innovation and entrepreneurship.
Practical contact and next steps
The EIC published the shortlist on its website on 21 November 2022 and invited attendees to the EIC Summit where winners would be revealed. The prize is run under the broader EIC work programme and is one element of the EU’s portfolio of measures aimed at boosting deep tech and scaling up innovative companies across Europe.