One-liner: the EU's cash prize for women founders of breakthrough companies — up to €100,000, no strings, awarded by the EIC and EIT. The largest women-specific money a Valencian founder can apply to, and it is open now.
What a founder gets
- EIC Women Innovators: €100,000 / €70,000 / €50,000 to the top three.
- EIC Rising Innovators (under 35 at the start of the call year): €50,000 / €30,000 / €20,000.
- EIT Women Leadership Award (women leaders from the EIT Community): €50,000 / €30,000 / €20,000.
- A prize, not a grant — no project budget or justification — plus EU-level visibility.
Who it's for
- A woman, applying as a natural person, who is founder or co-founder, legally established in the EU or a Horizon Europe associated country.
- The company must be registered before 1 January 2023 (at least two years before the call year). This rules out most very early startups.
- One category per applicant; no second EU prize for the same activities.
How to engage
- Apply by 1 December 2026, 17:00 CET via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal
(topics
HORIZON-EIC-2026-PRIZE-WIP,…-RISINGINNOVATORS,HORIZON-EIT-2026-PRIZE-WIP-LEADERSHIP). - Timeline: evaluation Jan 2027 → jury hearings Feb–Mar → finalists announced March → ceremony June 2027.
- The 17 Sep 2026 info-session recording and a "tips for applicants" deck are on the EIC page.
Key facts
- Award criteria: breakthrough innovation (deeptech/STEM emphasis) · impact on people/planet · the applicant as an inspiring role model for women and girls. The third criterion is scored — it is not decoration.
- Pairs naturally with Women TechEU 2026 (EU grant for women-led deeptech) and, for the investment side, WA4STEAM.
- Municipal ADL portals in the province (e.g. Senyera, Marines) republish this call — it reaches Valencian founders, but is not itself a Valencian instrument.
Relations
- Run by: EIT KICs
- See also: Women TechEU 2026
- See also: Female Entrepreneurship (support)
- See also: CDTI Sello Excelencia EIC