Women in Innovation Award 2024/25

Overview

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is offering up to 50 Women in Innovation Awards to women entrepreneurs within SMEs across the UK. The winners will receive a £75,000 grant and bespoke business support.

Aim

The aim of this competition is to fund and support a diverse portfolio of Women in Innovation Award winners:

• who will be relatable role models for women from all backgrounds
• from regions across the UK
• who are solving a range of pressing societal, environmental and economic challenges
• in a variety of innovation areas

They want to support women who are at a critical stage, where the injection of support from an award will accelerate the growth of their business.

The funding should help you make a real difference to innovation in the UK including in and beyond your sector or innovation area.

Your project must identify clearly evidenced pressing societal, environmental or economic challenges, and how your project and innovation can help solve them.

Applications can come from any area of innovation (where innovation is defined as the commercially successful exploitation of ideas) and be applied to any part of the economy.

They are looking for women who clearly explain how they will benefit from the full package of funding and support on offer and who can describe how this will add value to them and their business.

They are particularly encouraging applications from women who:

• are looking to develop a game changing novel idea or business innovation
• have the potential, capability, experience and personal drive to become leaders in business innovation
• want to be a role model for others, including in their region, sector and to young people
• have a clear vision for their business
• know what they are hoping to achieve from the award and how to measure success

As an award holder you will receive tailored business support, including but not limited to:

• funding and finance options and how to access these
• media and communications, for example, branding
• developing new business models
• evaluating market opportunities
• finding new partners
• growth and scale up
• developing international collaborations and accessing global markets
• business planning strategy

Role model work

Award holders will be required to volunteer as a role model for at least five days over the 12 month duration of the award. This is likely to generate interest in your stories and business.

A role model is a person perceived by others as setting an example of best practice which, if replicated, can enable the achievement of goals.

A role model is frequently associated with undertaking activities, including but not limited to:

• mentoring
• coaching
• presentations
• advice and guidance

A role model will help encourage and inspire others to enter a career in innovation and promote diversity and inclusion in innovation.

Funding Size

They have allocated up to £4 million to fund innovation projects in this competition.

Your total project costs will be 100% funded. Total project costs detailed within your application must not exceed the £75,000 grant funding amount. If your total project costs do exceed the maximum then your application will be made ineligible.

If successful, the grant funding will be paid in two instalments:

• 90% paid upfront in December 2024
• 10% paid post project end, upon approval of the final claim, independent accountant report (IAR) and project close form (PCF)

You can make reference to any additional voluntary contribution in your application answers. It must not be detailed in the finance section.

Eligibility

Your project

Your project must:

• have a grant funding request of up to £75,000
• last for 12 months
• carry out all of its project work in the UK
• intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
• start on 1 December 2024
• end on 30 November 2025

Projects must always start on the first of the month and this must be stated within your application. Your project start date will be reflected in your grant offer letter if you are successful.

You must only include eligible project costs in your application.

Under current restrictions, this competition will not fund any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any Russian or Belarusian entity as lead, partner or subcontractor. This includes any goods or services originating from a Russian or Belarusian source.

You will be made ineligible if you exceed the Minimal Financial Assistance limit. You must submit a complete declaration as part of your application.

Lead participant

To lead a project you must:

• be a woman founder, co-founder or senior decision maker within a UK registered micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) that has been registered on Companies House for at least 12 months by the competition closing date
• be a resident in the UK
• attend two development days in 2025
• be fully committed to volunteer as a role model for at least five days over the duration of the award

Applications from UK-registered social enterprises operating economically will be eligible if they meet all other criteria.

More information on the different types of organisation can be found in their Funding rules.

Subcontractors are allowed in this competition. Subcontracting costs must not exceed 50% of the grant funding amount.

Notes

You can only make one application for yourself. Only one woman working within an organisation can apply.

You can use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition.

You can make a maximum of two submissions to Innovate UK with any given proposal. If Innovate UK judges that your proposal is not materially different from your previous proposal, it will be counted towards this maximum.

Grant funding in this competition is awarded as Minimal Financial assistance (MFA). This allows public bodies to award up to £315,000 to an enterprise in a three year rolling financial period.

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

They want to fund a variety of projects across different locations in the UK. They call this a portfolio approach.

The two Women in Innovation development days will be held during the 12 months of your award. The first will be held in February 2025 and the second in September 2025.

See Guidance for further criteria