Carlos Moedas, Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, and Věra Jourová, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, launched the 2019 EU Prize for Women Innovators at the Web Summit in Lisbon earlier this week.
Three prizes of €100,000 each will be awarded in the main category, ‘Women Innovators’. A special prize of €50,000 will be given to a ‘Rising Innovator’, an exceptional entrepreneur at the beginning of her career (35 years old or younger).
The contest is open to women from across the EU (or countries associated to Horizon 2020) who have founded a successful company and brought innovation to market and benefitted from research and innovation funding from the public or private sector.
Applications are judged by a panel of independent experts from across Europe. Award criteria:
- The originality and marketability of the developed product or service provided by the company of the contestant
- The economic impact of a product or service for Europe
- The societal impact of a product or service for Europe
- The leadership role of the contestant
The deadline for applications is Wednesday, January 16, 2019.
Commissioner Moedas said: “More and more women are now coming to research, innovation and business, but we want more of them to create innovative enterprises.
“The past editions of the Women Innovators Prize have brought to light the incredible ideas and hard work of excellent women entrepreneurs. I look forward to seeing many more inspirational candidates applying in next year’s edition of the competition which we launch today.”
Commissioner Jourová said: “Winners of the Women Innovator Prize are an inspiration for many other women and true role models showing the courage to pursue their ideas and dreams. On the EU side, we are doing what we can to support their success.”
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