European Prize for Women Innovators at 10 years: winners, themes and what the awards mean

On 18 March 2024 the European Commission announced the winners and runners-up of the 10th edition of the European Prize for Women Innovators. The award is intended to highlight women founders and leaders whose innovations deliver societal or commercial impact across the European Union and countries associated to Horizon Europe. The prize is managed jointly by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency, EISMEA, and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, EIT. The announcement coincided with the opening of Research & Innovation Week in Brussels.

Commissioner Iliana Ivanova framed the milestone as a celebration of a decade of women driving innovation and entrepreneurship in Europe. The Commission’s messaging emphasises role modelling, diversity and gender balance in innovation ecosystems. That framing is consistent with wider EU policy priorities but it is worth remembering that visibility prizes are only one element of an ecosystem that includes grants, equity, regulatory pathways and private investment.

Winners and runners-up: three categories, cross-cutting themes

This edition presented awards across three categories: Women Innovators for established founders, Rising Innovators for entrepreneurs under 35, and an EIT Women Leadership award for outstanding leaders within the EIT community. The winners represent health technologies, space and propulsion, robotics and assistive devices, circular materials and sustainable food alternatives, and tools for social finance.

Women Innovators (founders and co-founders)

Rising Innovators (under 35)

EIT Women Leadership (EIT community members)

Prize mechanics, eligibility and selection

The prize has defined award amounts and eligibility rules. It is open to women who are founders or co‑founders of companies established in an EU Member State or a country associated to Horizon Europe. Entrants must meet administrative conditions such as company incorporation dates for certain categories. An independent expert jury selects winners against the specified award criteria.

What the awards accomplish and their limits

Awards like this operate on several levels. They provide direct, non‑dilutive cash that can be helpful for demonstration projects, pilots or visibility campaigns. They also confer recognition and access to high‑profile networks, commissioners and EU agencies that can help start‑ups with introductions to national contact points, investors and public procurement channels. For consumer and clinical technologies, an award can accelerate conversations with hospitals, regulators and payers.

At the same time, the sums involved are modest relative to the capital needed to scale deep tech hardware or to complete clinical development in medtech and biotech. For example, commercialising a medical device or scaling a nanomedicine will typically require successive rounds of equity, regulatory work, manufacturing scale‑up and reimbursement planning. Visibility and credibility help attract investors but do not replace those fundamental resource needs.

Profiles in brief: the innovations honoured

Below are concise descriptions of the winners and runners‑up innovations referenced in the announcement. These descriptions draw on the companies’ public positioning and the prize citations.

Administration, contact and process details

The prize is implemented by EISMEA together with the EIT. Winners are selected by an independent expert jury. For enquiries and more information the published contact point is EISMEA-WIP@ec.europa.eu. The announcement was published by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency on 18 March 2024.

A critical perspective: recognition helps, but scaling still requires ecosystems

Public prizes are an important visibility tool and can open doors across public procurement, clinical partnerships and investor networks. For early‑stage and deep tech companies the combination of non‑dilutive cash, coaching, investor introductions and labelling by EU bodies can be meaningful. However, transforming a prize into a sustainable commercial trajectory depends on follow‑on financing, regulatory approvals, manufacturing scale‑up, and real‑world validation. Stakeholders and journalists should therefore treat prizes as valuable but partial milestones rather than definitive proof of market success.

Further reading and resources

For full prize rules, eligibility, past editions and upcoming calls consult the European Innovation Council pages on the European Prize for Women Innovators and the EIT website. For follow‑up information about specific winners look to company webpages and EIC/EIT press materials where available.