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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

This prize aims to boost public awareness of the potential, importance, and contribution of women to the EU innovation ecosystem. Its core objective is to create strong role models, inspiring more women to become innovators themselves. - Target recipient: INDIVIDUAL (natural person) who is a woman, and a founder or co-founder of a company or organization. - Designation: SECTOR-AGNOSTIC - Geographic scope: Applicants must be legally residing in an EU Member State, an overseas country and territory (OCT), or a country associated with Horizon Europe. The company/organization must also be established in one of these regions. - Key filtering criteria: Woman, founder/co-founder of a company/organization established at least two years prior, and residency/establishment within eligible EU/associated countries. - Grant frequency: This appears to be an annual prize as part of 'The European Prize for Women Innovators' program.

Financial Structure

The total budget for the 'Women Leadership Category' prize is EUR 100,000 for the 2025 call year.
This prize is awarded to 3 winners (1st, 2nd, and 3rd place).
Prize money will be paid to the winners after the award ceremony, provided all requested documents have been submitted.
This is a prize, so there are no co-financing or matching fund requirements, nor are there eligible/ineligible cost categories for project expenditures.
No financial guarantees are required from applicants.
Prize money is a fixed award, not a percentage of project costs.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicant Eligibility

Must be a natural person, not a legal entity.
Must be a woman (includes cis women and transgender women legally defined as women).
Must be legally residing in an EU Member State, including overseas countries and territories (OCTs), or a country associated with Horizon Europe.
Must be the founder or co-founder of a company or organization (self-employment is not accepted).

Company/Organization Eligibility

The company or organization must be established in an EU Member State, including overseas countries and territories (OCTs), or a country associated with Horizon Europe.
The company or organization must be registered or incorporated at least two years before the call year (i.e., before 1 January 2023).

General Eligibility

Applicants who have already received an EU or Euratom prize cannot receive a second prize for the same activities.
Joint applications by a group of applicants are not accepted; applicants from the same organization must apply separately.
Applicants eligible for several prize categories can only apply to one category within 'The European Prize for Women Innovators'.
Applicants must register in the Participant Register as a 'natural person' and be validated before the call deadline.

Exclusion Criteria

Applicants are ineligible if subject to an EU exclusion decision or specific situations such as bankruptcy, winding up, breach of social security/tax obligations, grave professional misconduct, fraud, corruption, links to criminal organizations, money laundering, terrorism-related crimes, child labor, human trafficking, or significant deficiencies in complying with prior EU funding obligations.
Ineligibility also applies if applicants misrepresented information during the award procedure or had a conflict of interest from prior involvement in call preparation.
Entities subject to EU restrictive measures are not eligible.
Entities subject to EU conditionality measures (e.g., Hungarian public interest trusts established under Act IX of 2021) may apply but are not eligible to receive a prize unless measures are lifted by the time of the award decision.

Application Process

Application Process Steps

Applications must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission System.
Paper submissions are NOT possible.
Applicants must use the forms provided inside the Submission System, not templates found elsewhere.
The application must be complete and include all requested information, annexes, and supporting documents.
Applicants must register in the 'Participant Register' as a 'natural person' and complete the validation process before the call deadline.

Required Documentation and Materials

Application Form Part A: Contains administrative information about the applicant (filled directly online).
Application Form Part B: Contains the technical description of the application (template downloaded, completed, assembled, and re-uploaded). This part is strictly limited to a maximum of 15 pages; additional pages will not be considered.
Mandatory Annexes/Supporting Documents (templates downloaded, completed, assembled, and re-uploaded):
Inspiring Video Message: A video lasting no more than 90 seconds, describing the applicant and their achievements. The video cannot exceed 100MB and must be uploaded as a .zip file.
Proof of eligibility must be provided upon request.

Application Timeline

Application Deadline: 25 September 2025, 17:00 CET (Brussels time).
Evaluation Period: October 2025 - February 2026.
Information on Results and Awards: February - May 2026.

Post-Award Requirements and Compliance

Prize winners must actively promote the prize and its results, providing targeted information to various audiences.
All communication activities related to the prize must acknowledge EU support, display the European flag (emblem), and include a specific funding statement and disclaimer (translated where appropriate).
Winners may use the EU emblem without prior approval but cannot claim exclusive use or appropriate it as a trademark.
All communication must use factually accurate information.

Evaluation Criteria

Award Criteria (Total 30 points, minimum overall 18 points, minimum 6 points per criterion)

Breakthrough innovation (Maximum 10 points, Threshold 6 points):
The company/organization founded or co-founded by the applicant is developing a breakthrough innovation, particularly focusing on deep-tech and Science Technology Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) fields.
Applicant must demonstrate what makes this innovation breakthrough in relation to other existing solutions.
Impact (Maximum 10 points, Threshold 6 points):
The innovation addresses a real need or challenge, with significant benefits for people and/or the planet.
Applicant must demonstrate how the company’s/organization’s current performance and growth drives a positive socio-economic and/or environmental impact (e.g., in terms of wellbeing, education, profit, or job creation).
Inspiration (Maximum 10 points, Threshold 6 points):
The applicant is an inspiring leader, who has played a pivotal role in the success of the company or organization.
The applicant is a role model empowering other women and girls in realizing their full potential.
Applicant should highlight efforts to promote gender balance within their company/organization or beyond, and/or advocate for innovative initiatives that have positively contributed to gender equality (e.g., access to finance, networks, product design, education, gender-responsive innovation).

Scoring and Ranking Process

Applications must pass both individual criterion thresholds and the overall threshold to be considered for an award.
The prize will be awarded to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd ranked applications with the best scores in each category.
In case of tied scores, a priority order will be determined by giving Criterion 2 (Impact) a weight of 2, and Criterion 3 (Inspiration) a weight of 1.5.
If ties persist after this weighting, applicants may be invited to a hearing in Brussels (which may take place remotely).
If two or more applications still tie for any rank, the prize money will be equally divided among them.

Assessment Basis

The jury's assessment will be based on Application Form Part A, Application Form Part B, and the inspiring video message submitted by the applicant.
If there are more than 500 applications in a category, a pre-selection process will take place to select the top 500 for jury review.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory and Ethical Compliance

Applicants must adhere to strict regulatory compliance, particularly regarding EU exclusion decisions (e.g., no bankruptcy, tax breaches, professional misconduct, fraud, corruption, or links to criminal activity).
Compliance with EU restrictive measures (e.g., sanctions) and conditionality measures is mandatory.
The grant expects high ethical standards, particularly in the context of professional conduct and avoiding misrepresentation.

Intellectual Property (IP) Policies

The awarding authority does not obtain ownership of the results produced in the context of the prize. Applicants retain their Intellectual Property Rights.
However, the awarding authority has the right to use non-sensitive information, materials, and documents (e.g., pictures, audio-visual material) provided by the winners for information, communication, dissemination, and publicity purposes.

Checks, Audits, and Investigations

The awarding authority, European Commission, European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), and the European Court of Auditors (ECA) may conduct checks, audits, and investigations related to the prize at any time.

Withdrawal of Prize and Recovery of Funds

The awarding authority reserves the right to withdraw the prize and recover all payments if:
False information, fraud, or corruption was used to obtain the prize.
The prize winners were not eligible or should have been excluded.
The prize winners are in serious breach of their obligations under the Rules of Contest.

Special Considerations

This is a recognition prize for individuals, focusing on their leadership and the impact of their innovation, rather than a project funding opportunity.
The prize specifically targets women founders/co-founders who demonstrate breakthrough innovation and inspire others, particularly women and girls.
The application requires an inspiring video message, which is a critical component of the evaluation.
Applicants may be invited for a hearing in Brussels as a final step in the evaluation process if applications are highly competitive or tied at later stages.

Grant Details