The Women TechEU scheme re-opens another €12 million in equity-free grants for women founders in deep tech
A New Era of Opportunity for Women-Led Deep Tech Startups Across Europe
The future of European innovation is being shaped by women founders, and we are delighted to announce that the new Women TechEU (2026–2028) programme is officially open for applications. As a core consortium partner, AwakenHub is proud to be delivering this latest implementation of the Women TechEU initiative alongside Sploro and AcrossLimits, together with a consortium of leading European innovation organisations. The programme will invest €12 million in equity-free funding and business support over the next two years, supporting 160 women-led deep tech companies across Europe.
Applications Are Now Open
Women TechEU offers selected founders:
€75,000 in non-dilutive funding
Tailored business development support
Expert mentoring and coaching
Investor and corporate matchmaking
Access to Europe's leading innovation networks
The programme is designed specifically for early-stage women-led deep tech startups, helping founders accelerate growth, secure investment, and scale internationally.
The current call opened on 1 June 2026 and begins with an eligibility assessment process. Applicants are encouraged to submit as early as possible to maximise their chances of progressing through the programme.
AwakenHub encourages founders to complete their eligibility application before the first internal eligibility review cut-off on 30 June.
Join the Women TechEU InfoDay – 25 June
Interested founders are invited to attend the official Women TechEU InfoDay on:
📅 25 June 2026
🕙 10:00 CEST (Brussels Time) - thats 9:00 am Irish Time
📍 Online via Zoom
During the session, participants will receive:
A detailed overview of the programme
Guidance on eligibility requirements
Insights into the application process
Practical tips for preparing a strong submission
Live Q&A with programme partners
This session is highly recommended for any founder considering an application.
Register for the Women TechEU InfoDay today through the Women TechEU website. Please read through the Eligibility Guidelines and Eligibility Application form and bring all your questions to the information session. Please note only those who are confirmed as eligible will be invited to make an full proposal application.
Celebrating Ireland's Women TechEU Success Stories
At AwakenHub, we are particularly proud of the exceptional Irish founders who have already secured Women TechEU funding and demonstrated the strength of Ireland's growing deep tech ecosystem.
Among the successful companies emerging from the AwakenHub community and the wider Irish innovation landscape are:
MoveTru
Klas Therapeutics
Konree Innovation
Alongside many other outstanding Irish women founders who have successfully secured Women TechEU support in previous cohorts.
These companies represent the diversity, ambition, and global potential of Irish women-led innovation. Their achievements continue to inspire the next generation of founders who are building breakthrough solutions across healthtech, climate tech, AI, advanced manufacturing, and other deep tech sectors.
To learn more about all the Women TechEU (2024-2026) winners, and those who obtained a Badge of Honour, visit our DataHub.As for the 2021 and 2023 winners, these can be viewed here.
Why Women TechEU Matters
Despite significant progress, women remain underrepresented in deep tech entrepreneurship across Europe. Women TechEU was created to help close this gap by providing targeted funding, visibility, mentorship, and access to networks that enable founders to scale faster and compete globally.
Since its launch, the programme has supported hundreds of women-led startups, helping founders transform groundbreaking research and innovation into high-growth companies. The new 2026–2028 programme continues that mission with renewed ambition and expanded support.
The Consortium
The scheme continues the sterling work initiated by the European Commission (2021-2022) and the first Women TechEU project consortium (2024-2026). The Women TechEU 2 EIC (2026-2028) project is currently being run by a consortium of 15 partners from 11 EU countries, with a further 14 organisations from 13 countries Associated to the consortium, including non-EU countries such as the United States, Iceland, Norway, and the UK. The European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency remains its granting authority.
Several experienced partners that were involved in previous iterations of the Women TechEU scheme (either as evaluators, mentors or project partners) continue to implement the programme, bringing invaluable know-how, expertise and continuity that will ensure an even smoother and beneficial experience for the beneficiaries of Women TechEU.
The consortium partners cover all the areas across the entire innovation support value chain needed to reach over 30,000 women entrepreneurs in deep tech from all over Europe, as well as provide beneficiaries with deep access to regional ecosystems across Europe and beyond.
The project is led by Sploro, who bring leading expertise in coordination and open call management expertise. Sploro is joined in the Core Team by AwakenHub (running incubation, investment, scaling and networking programmes for women founders), and AcrossLimits (communications, business development and ecosystem-building experts).
The consortium is invaluably strengthened by the access to EU-wide networks, specialised knowledge, infrastructure, and landmark events provided through the contributions of partners like Climate KIC, EIT Health, AFAEMME, Finance Innovation, DARE, INNOVX, PODIM, DTS, Plk21, KTM, SERN, and EU-Startups.
Our 14 Associated Partners bring active angel investment networks and venture capital actors closer to the project and to the beneficiaries (BAND, WA4STEAM, Nordic Ignite, Danube Angels, WIN, Bulgarian Angels Club, Lifted Ventures, Prospera, Movens, EstBAN, Blossom Ventures), as well as giving them access to large corporate innovation partners who deploy capital and run pilots (Orange, Vodafone, MIGROS).
A Message from AwakenHub
"We are delighted to continue our role as a core partner in Women TechEU and to help bring this incredible opportunity to ambitious women founders across Ireland and Europe. The success of previous Irish recipients demonstrates both the quality of innovation emerging from our ecosystem and the transformational impact this programme can have on startup growth. We encourage all eligible women-led deep tech companies to explore the opportunity and join us at the upcoming InfoDay."
The Women TechEU Grant & Services
Each beneficiary will receive a €75k grant (non-dilutive finance) as well as a holistic support programme that includes mentorship, training, expert guidance, networking, and matchmaking opportunities. This programme has been designed and tailored to the needs of women-led startups, honed through continuous rounds of feedback from previous beneficiaries.
Additionally, beneficiaries will gain visibility and business opportunities through participation in 10 editions of high-impact European events.
The aim of the programme of services is to empower women in deep tech, whilst strengthening their access to investors and corporates. The most promising startups will also gain direct access to WP4 strategic services to grow and scale-up by tapping into EIC funding and support schemes.
The Application Process
The application process consists of two phases, designed to optimise clarity and speed for startups, who are no longer required to fill in a full proposal only to find out they are not eligible.
(1) The Eligibility Check: Potential applicants are invited to fill in a simplified questionnaire-style form that will quickly identify whether they are eligible to apply for the Women TechEU Programme. Applicants can complete their eligibility check at any point before a cut-off date.
Within a week, applicants will receive either a letter of non-eligibility, or an invitation to submit their Full Proposal for the next cut-off date. The maximum number of resubmissions for the Eligibility check phase is three times.
(2) The Full Proposal: Only those applicants who are deemed eligible in the first phase can submit a Full Proposal. There will be 4 cut-off dates throughout the project, and at each cut-off, after a comprehensive evaluation, 40 beneficiaries will be selected. The 20 runner-ups of each call will be given a Badge of Honour for further visibility and access
Ready to Apply?
Applications are now open for the Women TechEU 2026–2028 programme.
👉 Visit the official Women TechEU website to learn more and begin your application process: Women TechEU Official Website
👉 Register for the Women TechEU InfoDay on 25 June and discover how your startup could become part of Europe's next generation of deep tech success stories.
Women TechEU (2026–2028) is funded by the European Union and will support 160 women-led deep tech startups with €75,000 equity-free grants and a comprehensive business acceleration programme over the next two years.
