Organisation of the Women TechEU Scheme

Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• Support deep tech^[1] innovation as a basis for a modern, knowledge-driven, resource-efficient and competitive economy;
• Promote female leadership in the deep tech industry to build fairer, more inclusive, and more prosperous innovation ecosystems in the European Union (EU);
• Ensure a smooth continuation of the established Women TechEU scheme consistent with previous processes, outcomes, and branding;
• Foster cooperation and networking between women entrepreneurs in the deep tech field.

The Women TechEU scheme has been launched under the European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE) Work Programme 2021 as a pilot scheme and became a fully-fledged initiative under the EIE Work Programme 2022.

As a final objective, the scheme supports European early-stage deep tech start-ups, registered and established in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country for at least six months at the time of the submission, founded or co-founded by women, holding a top management position (chief executive officer (CEO), chief technology officer (CTO), chief scientific officer (CSO), or equivalent). All deep tech domains should be eligible, with the emphasis being on overall gender balance and the position held by women in the start-up. The consortium selected under this call must ensure that these criteria are met for financial support to third parties.

The initiative complements activities funded under the European Innovation Council (EIC), paving the way for the participation of women-led start-ups in future EIC calls.

The consortium selected under this call is expected to organise the Women TechEU scheme, covering the following activities:

• Ensure the sound design, organisation, and management of the Women TechEU scheme, ensuring continuity of the scheme as implemented by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency in 2021 and 2022;
• Ensure smooth connection with the EIC Business Acceleration Services (BAS)^[2] for the mentoring and coaching support activities to selected applicants;
• Communicate and promote the scheme in order to secure quality applications;
• Organise landmark events, building a network of Women TechEU grantees, and help them to connect with the overall EIC community;
• Promote cooperation and networking activities among the community of women entrepreneurs in the deep tech field;
• Ensure proper geographical distribution and technological areas to be covered by the scheme;
• Report on the implementation of the scheme (key data on applications, start-ups funded, demographics of end-beneficiaries of the scheme, etc.) to European Commission services.

The applicants should consider a project duration of two (2) years and support provided by the consortium to eligible third parties under this initiative must be made up of the following components:

• Financial support to each selected company as an individual grant of EUR 75 000 supporting activities such as evaluating and refining products/services, design, user experience, upgrading the business model, updating the business plan and growth strategy, finding partners and investors, market validation, etc.;
• The possibility to participate in dedicated activities organised by InvestEU, the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), and other relevant networks;
• Please note that mentoring and coaching will be provided by the EIC BAS, under the ‘Women Leadership Programme’, which includes dedicated networking and pitching events funded under a separate EIC budget.

Type and range of activities

A main activity of the consortium will be to run calls for proposals (at least one (1) per calendar year, the consideration of multiple cut-off dates is encouraged), organise the evaluation process, and administer the grants. Beyond providing funding to women-led deep tech start-ups, proposals under this topic should include a sound promotion and communication strategy of the programme (especially in underrepresented Member States), clearly brand the scheme as an EU initiative, including but not limited to, through information and dissemination events, press and outreach events, or roadshows.

[1]Deep tech innovation aims to provide concrete solutions to our societal problems by finding its source in a deep interaction with the most recent scientific and technological advances and by seeking to produce a profound impact in the targeted application areas.

[2]EIC Business Acceleration Services.