The Women TechEU scheme re-opens another €12 million in equity-free grants for women founders in deep tech

The third edition of Women TechEU(2026-2028), an EU-funded project supporting women leading deep tech startup companies from Europe, has been launched and opened its call for applications.

Over the next two years, 160 selected European startups will receive €75,000 in non-dilutive funding, together with a personalised business development programme including one-to-one mentoring, training, matchmaking with investors and corporates, and networking opportunities

At the heart of Women TechEU is the belief that diversity drives innovation, and for too long European women’s talent and potential has been hampered by structural barriers, including gender inequality and geographical resource capacity. Closing this gap between European women and men-led deep tech companies could unlock value of up to €181 billion.

In this context, Women TechEU has cemented itself as one of the EU’s most dynamic and impactful innovation programmes, supporting 344 women-led companies over 6 cohorts who are pushing the boundaries of European deep tech. Its legacy began when it was administered directly by the European Commission in 2021. As of 2024, the Women TechEU Scheme has been externalised and run by two successive consortiums of European organisations, and is currently being run by a consortium made up of 15 organisations from 11 EU countries.

Active Calls HERE

The Women TechEU consortium is led by Sploro (Spain), and includes AwakenHub (Ireland), AcrossLimits (Malta), DARE Innovations (Hungary), INNOVX (Romania), Climate KIC (Netherlands), Finance Innovation (France), AFAEMME (Spain), PODIM (Slovenia), Innovative Poland Foundation (Poland), Polka XXI Foundation (Poland), KTM (Greece), SERN (Belgium), EU-Startups (Spain), and Innostars (Germany).