EU Prize for Women Innovators 2018

The European Commission has launched the fifth edition of the EU Prize for Women Innovators to award women entrepreneurs who have achieved outstanding innovations and brought them to market. Apply by 15 November 2017 and follow us on #WIPrizeEU.

Carlos Moedas, Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, said: “The EU Prize for Women Innovators gives public recognition to outstanding women entrepreneurs and inspires other women to follow in their footsteps”

Prizes

Four cash prizes will be awarded to the most innovative women entrepreneurs:

• First Prize: €100 000
• Second Prize: €50 000
• Third Prize: €30 000
• Rising Innovator: €20 000

Learn more on the competition

Who can apply?

The contest is open to women across the EU (or country associated to Horizon 2020 ) who have:

• Founded a successful company and brought innovation to market
• Benefitted from R&I funding from the public or private sector

Award criteria

• The originality and marketability of the developed product or service provided by the company of the contestant. Applications will be compared according to e.g. the number of patents/co-patents and trademarks.
• The economic impact – The economic impact of a product or service of the company for Europe is measured by the number of countries (inside and outside the EU) where the product or service is sold, and by the size of the turnover achieved with this service or product in 2015 and 2016.
• The societal impact – the societal impact of a product or service of the company for Europe. It will be measured by the number of jobs created and the potential of the service or product to help Europe in addressing societal challenges e.g. the ageing of the European population, global warming, clean water, renewable energy and resource efficiency.
• The impact and leadership role of the contestant. Contestants should explain how their role in the company influenced the success of the company and outline their potential to empower other women to be leaders and entrepreneurs.

See further information on the eligibility and award criteria for the competition (387 KB)

Apply Now

Why a prize for women innovators?

Europe urgently needs more innovators to stay competitive in the coming decades and to spur economic growth. Women are underrepresented in terms of creating innovative enterprises. This is an untapped potential for Europe, which needs to optimise all available resources to remain competitive and find solutions to our societal challenges.

That is why the Commission created a Prize for Women Innovators in 2011 to increase public awareness of this issue and to encourage women innovators to exploit the commercial and business opportunities and become entrepreneurs.