Innovate UK’s Ladies in Innovation Awards scheme has reopened with £4.5million price of funding that can present £75,000 grants every to as much as 60 feminine founders.
This 12 months’s competitors is targeted on ladies founders of late-stage startups, who function inside superior manufacturing, digital and applied sciences, or life sciences, three of the excessive development sectors within the goverment’s industrial technique.
In addition to the funding winners will obtain “bespoke enterprise help, and a set of coaching, networking and role-modelling alternatives”.
Liz Kendall, science, innovation and expertise secretary, stated:
“The Ladies in Innovation Awards are unlocking the UK’s untapped potential inside our group of ladies innovators; if women and men began and scaled companies on the similar price this might be price as a lot as £250 billion for the UK financial system.
“This document £4.5 million funding will empower formidable ladies founders to scale their companies, drive financial development, and encourage the subsequent era of innovators.”
Purposes shut at 11am on 4 February 2026. You possibly can apply right here.
Launched in 2016, the awards scheme has returned following controversy surrounding final 12 months’s programme. Innovate UK initially stated there have been 50 winners however then introduced that solely 25 grants could be given out.
Following a viral publish on LinkedIn by entrepreneur Emma Abbasi, the ‘Let’s Fund Extra Ladies’ group was shaped which urged Innovate UK to reverse its determination.
Innovate UK later confirmed that every one 50 winners would obtain funding.
In a publish about this 12 months’s awards, Emily Nott, head of inclusive innovation programmes at Innovate UK, stated the organisation has listened to the issues and gathered suggestions at occasions and from the brand new Ladies in Innovation Group Discussion board.
Innovate UK’s Pledge for Progress has additionally been launched with 10 commitments to higher help ladies innovators.
