In this issue
We present the third edition of the Women TechEU programme - a key instrument to support early-stage women founders in Europe developing deep-tech startups - along with some statistics on the previous editions.
Women TechEU
Good news for Europe’s deep-tech women founders: Women TechEU has reopened in a revitalised third edition for the period 2026 to 2028.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the programme, Women TechEU is a grant-funding scheme designed to support leading deep-tech, women-led start-ups based in EU and Horizon Europe Associated Countries. Through essential funding, strategic guidance, and a collaborative network, the programme’s objective is to ignite the potential of women-led, early-stage startups in deep tech, enabling them to build market-shaping companies at global level.
Selected start-ups will receive a grant of €75K together with a tailored business development programme including one-to-one mentoring, expert training and guidance, matchmaking with investors and corporates, and networking opportunities. In addition, selection provides the awardee with unquestionable recognition as a deep-tech leader.
Across 2026 to 2028, an overall budget of €12M is available, permitting 160 women-led, deep-tech startups to be selected across four competitive cut-off deadlines. A novelty in this third edition is that 40% of the funding at each deadline is reserved for start-ups from widening regions.
Who can apply?
To apply, early-stage, deep-tech start-ups must:
- Have a woman founder or co-founder and that also holds a top management position (CEO, CTO, CSO or equivalent).
- Have women holding at least 25% of the company’s shares.
- Have the company registered and established in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country for at least 6 months and a maximum of 5 years at the time of submission.
- Have raised <€1M in equity funding.
- Have yet to reach a high fidelity MVP [Technology Readiness Level (TRL) between 4 and 6].
How to apply?
The programme runs through a two-stage application process:
- Eligibility Check (online form).
- Full Proposal.
The Eligibility Check runs with weekly cut-offs every Tuesday at 17:00 CE(S)T (Brussels time), from a first cut-off on 30 June 2026 until a final cut-off on 13 July 2027. Applications can be submitted via the Sploro platform.
The application for those eligible to submit a Full Proposal will open in July 2026.
Women TechEU Statistics
Since its inception in 2021, Women TechEU has run two editions: the first ran across 2021 and 2022, and the second from 2024 to 2026. Within both periods, the programme provided non-dilutive grants to a grand total of 344 companies: 184 in the first edition, and 160 in the second edition.
Examples of deep-tech, women-led start-ups funded include:
- Devanthro (DE) - a robotics & AI deep-tech firm tackling the elderly care crisis through an advanced telecare platform.
- Elogium (LV) - developing the world’s first anti-Campylobacter feed additive that significantly reduces Campylobacter presence in chicken gut.
- Change Bio (UK) - offering a unique, state-of-the-art, biomethanol-based bioprocess & precision fermentation digital-twin, engineered for speed & predictability at scale.
The impact of such a programme cannot be denied: startups from the first three cohorts alone in the second edition collectively raised >€53.8M in private funding (a 6:1 return on the €9M in EU funding invested) within a year, along with advancing their products, refining their go-to-market strategies, and strengthening cross-border networks.
However, with a growing interest and need for such programmes in Europe, Women TechEU is very competitive. In the most recent edition, 3,792 applications from 43 eligible countries were submitted across the four deadlines. With only 160 selected for funding, the programme had a success rate of 4.2%.
Riding on the back of its success, we expect the latest edition to be similarly competitive. Although, two new measures have been introduced that may improve success rates:
- The Eligibility Check will eliminate the high percentage of non-ineligible proposals and avoid ineligible entrepreneurs needlessly spending resources to develop proposals.
- A maximum number of three submissions to the Eligibility Check.
Source: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7476184753931702272