Official call identifier: Women TechEU 2 EIC
Objective of the call
Women TechEU 2 EIC supports women-led, early-stage deep-tech startups in the European Union and Horizon Europe Associated Countries. The programme aims to strengthen the position of women founders in European deep tech and help promising startups develop, scale and become ready for further private and public investment.
The programme will support 160 women-led deep-tech startups with EUR 75,000 in non-dilutive funding per company, combined with a personalised six-month business development programme. The support is intended to help companies strengthen their business and investment readiness and prepare for further funding opportunities such as the EIC Accelerator and EIC Pre-Accelerator.
A particular focus is placed on widening regions. Overall, 40% of the programme budget is reserved for startups from eligible widening areas.
Scope of activities
Selected startups receive financial support together with a six-month Programme of Services tailored to their development needs.
Supported business development services include:
• One-to-one mentoring with experienced women mentors
• Investor readiness and pitch preparation
• Export readiness assessment
• Soft-skills development, including leadership, presentation and public-speaking skills
• Sales and go-to-market strategy
• Environmental impact assessment
• Participation in high-impact startup and investment events
• Peer meetings, local chapters and community activities
• Access to startup-focused business and software benefits
Following the Month 3 programme evaluation, selected companies may also access additional scale-up services, including:
• Fast Track support towards the EIC Accelerator
• Open innovation and corporate access
• Targeted meetings with investors
Applicants must indicate which EIC Accelerator Challenge their innovation addresses. The available areas are:
• Advanced Materials for Renewable Energy and Energy Storage Systems
• Alternative Concepts and Key Enabling Technologies for Fusion Power Plants
• Biotech for Regenerating Agricultural Soils
• Boosting the European Critical Raw Materials Value Chain
• Deep Tech for Climate Adaptation
• Open Challenge for deep-tech innovations outside the predefined challenge areas
Eligible applicants
The call is open to women-led, early-stage deep-tech startups established in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country.
The applicant must be a private company and meet all of the following conditions:
• The company must have been legally registered for at least 6 months and no more than 5 years at the relevant eligibility cut-off date.
• The company must qualify as an SME under Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC.
• It must employ fewer than 250 people and have either annual turnover of no more than EUR 50 million or an annual balance sheet total of no more than EUR 43 million.
• The company must be autonomous according to the EU SME definition.
• The startup must have raised less than EUR 1 million in equity.
• The technology must be at TRL 4–6, inclusive, and must not yet have reached a high-fidelity Minimum Viable Product.
• The company must be developing a genuine deep-tech innovation based on substantial scientific, technological or engineering advances.
• The company must have a woman founder or co-founder. A woman is considered a co-founder where she acquired shares within one year of the company’s registration.
• At least one woman founder or co-founder must currently hold a top management position such as CEO, CTO, CSO, Director, General Manager or equivalent.
• Women must hold at least 25% of the company’s shares at the time of submission.
• The same activities must not have previously received funding through Women TechEU initiatives or the EIC Accelerator.
• Women TechEU 2 EIC consortium partners, affiliated entities, employees and subcontractors are not eligible.
Foundations, associations, federations and legal entities other than private companies are not eligible.
Eligible EU Member States are:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
Eligible Horizon Europe Associated Countries listed in the guidelines are:
Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
Widening areas receive a dedicated 40% budget allocation. These include:
Widening EU Member States: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
Widening Associated Countries: Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Tunisia, Türkiye and Ukraine.
Outermost Regions: Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Réunion, Mayotte and Saint-Martin; the Azores and Madeira; and the Canary Islands.
Eligible costs
Funding is provided as a fixed lump sum. Applicants are required to provide a budget breakdown explaining how they intend to use the EUR 75,000 grant.
The funding is intended for strategic activities supporting the startup’s development, growth and investment readiness. The guidelines do not establish reimbursement based on individual actual-cost categories; payments are instead linked to achievement of programme milestones and KPIs.
Funding conditions
Type of support: Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) – non-dilutive lump sum grant
Funding rate: Lump sum funding. Each selected startup is awarded a maximum total contribution of EUR 75,000, subject to achievement of the programme milestones.
Maximum grant per beneficiary: EUR 75,000
The grant is paid in three instalments:
• Month 1 – EUR 37,500, representing 50% of the grant, after completion and approval of the Programme Launch & Setup milestones
• Month 3 – up to EUR 30,000, representing 40% of the grant, linked to KPI progress and programme participation
• Month 6 – EUR 7,500, representing 10% of the grant, following completion of the final milestones and impact assessment
For the Month 3 payment, completion of at least 40% of the agreed KPIs triggers the full EUR 30,000 payment. Lower KPI achievement results in a proportional payment. If KPI achievement is below 20%, the payment is retained until the end of the programme. If achievement is below 10%, the beneficiary is automatically disqualified from the process.
Total call budget: EUR 12,000,000
The programme will support up to 160 startups across four Full Proposal submission deadlines.
For each submission deadline:
• 40 startups are expected to be selected
• 16 startups will be selected from widening areas
• 24 startups will be selected from other eligible areas
• EUR 1,200,000 is allocated to widening-area startups
• EUR 1,800,000 is allocated to startups from other areas
• Total budget per submission deadline: EUR 3,000,000
Across the full programme:
• EUR 4,800,000, equivalent to 40% of the total budget, is reserved for 64 startups from widening areas
• EUR 7,200,000 is available for 96 startups from other eligible areas
Unused funding from one submission deadline is transferred to the following deadline within the same geographical budget category.
Project duration: Six-month Programme of Services
Technology Readiness Level (TRL) (if applicable):
Applicants must be developing a deep-tech innovation positioned between TRL 4 and TRL 6, both inclusive. The startup must not yet have reached a high-fidelity Minimum Viable Product.
Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) describe the maturity of a technology, ranging from basic research (TRL 1) to fully developed and market-ready systems (TRL 9).
Deadline for submission
The application process consists of two stages.
Eligibility Strand:
Opening date: 1 June 2026
Eligibility applications are assessed through weekly cut-offs every Tuesday at 17:00 CE(S)T, Brussels time. The first cut-off was 30 June 2026 at 17:00 CEST. The Eligibility Strand remains open until 14 June 2027 at 17:00 CEST.
Only applicants confirmed as eligible are invited to submit a Full Proposal.
Full Proposal deadlines:
• 16 September 2026, 17:00 CEST
• 14 January 2027, 17:00 CET
• 1 April 2027, 17:00 CEST
• 8 July 2027, 17:00 CEST