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Women in Innovation Awards 2025/26 in County Durham

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Business

Expires:

Total: 2000000

Individual: 75000

Minimum company size: 1

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Women in Innovation Awards 2025/26


Women founders or co-founders with UK registered businesses at the late stage start-up phase can apply for a grant of up to £75,000 and bespoke business support, to further their ambitious growth plans.

  • Competition opens: Wednesday 26 November 2025
  • Competition closes: Wednesday 4 February 2026 11:00am

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), is offering up to 60 Women in Innovation Awards to women founders and co-founders of micro, small or medium sized enterprises (SMEs) across the UK. This is subject to a sufficient number of high quality applications being received.

Successful projects will receive up to £75,000 of grant funding and bespoke business support for 12 months.

A proportion of highly commended applicants who have not been awarded grant funding in this competition will be offered bespoke business support for 12 months.

The aims of this competition are to support Women in Innovation Award winners:


As a late stage start-up we would expect you to:

  • have built a basic version of the idea or product, service, solution, for example a prototype or Minimal Viable Product
  • have received early interest from users, customers, or made some money
  • know who the product is for and have started testing how the business will work
  • have an understanding of realistic market opportunity
  • have started forming a team, going beyond original founders

In applying to this competition, you are entering into a competitive process. This competition has a funding limit, so we may not be able to fund all the proposed projects. It may be the case that your project scores highly but we are still unable to fund it.

Eligibility summary

This competition is open to single applicants.

You must be a woman founder or co-founder of a UK registered micro, small or medium sized enterprise that is a late stage start-up.

Your project must be aligned to one of the following growth sectors:

  • advanced manufacturing
  • digital and technologies
  • life sciences