EU's Women-Led Tech Startup Program Receives 250+ Applications

• Open Horizons, funded by the EU, funds women digital and deep tech startups
• The initial open call ended with 256 submissions from 32 nations
• Applications were received in the areas of AI, green technology, IoT, agri-tech, energy and sustainability, blockchain, cybersecurity, textiles, and next-generation internet

The Open Horizons project, which is funded by the EU and aims to accelerate women-led digital and deep tech startup success, had a good response to its initial open call, with 256 registrations from 32 countries, the European Commission reported.

Applications cut across industries such as AI, green tech, IoT, agri-tech, energy and sustainability, blockchain, cybersecurity, textiles, and next-generation internet.

The top ten countries with the most submissions were the UK, Türkiye, Germany, Ukraine, Spain, Poland, France, Greece, Italy, and Romania.

A five-step selection process is ongoing to choose 11 startups for the "inception phase." Each chosen startup will be given €10,000 and one month of mentoring, technical support, and business networking.

Five companies from this batch will move into the "piloting phase," which provides a chance to pilot solutions in actual corporate settings with the help of up to a further €45,000 in financing.

During three open calls between 2025 and 2027, a total of 39 women-led startups will be funded with a total of €1.2 million in equity-free funding.

The Open Horizons project seeks to balance the startup ecosystem in Europe. Statistics have shown that startups led by women are able to bring in 10 percent more revenue within five years than those led by men but get much less funding.

To assist in bridging this gap, Open Horizons provides a "paid-pilot" scheme that gives funding and the ability to create follow-on agreements with large corporations, an aspect that is usually lacking in other EU schemes

The program is available to early-stage deep tech and digital startups that are based in the EU or Horizon Europe–associated nations and fulfill the below stipulations

EU or Horizon Europe–associated nations, founders or C-level executives who are at least one woman or possess 25 percent or more ownership, less than €1 million rose before applying

Subsequent calls will continue to provide funding, co-creation of pilot projects with corporates, mentorship, and investor visibility. Applications are made through the Open Horizons portal.

Supporters see the initiative as a step towards giving women founders the visibility and corporate support they need to develop their businesses, but some critics wonder if the funding levels will make a sizeable difference in the funding gap for Europe's deep tech industry.