What are the main grants, available during the year 2025, for women entrepreneurs?
Below you will find information on the main existing grants and lines of funding, which promote female entrepreneurship, and their main characteristics.
European Innovation Council
The European Prize for Innovative Women is awarded jointly by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and the European Innovation Council (EIC). Through this collaboration, the EIT and the EIC are highlighting a large group of innovative women, offering more opportunities for pioneers and providing inspiring role models for women and girls everywhere.
The award celebrates the women entrepreneurs behind Europe's most revolutionary innovations. The award is given to women from all over the EU and from countries associated with Horizon Europe, whose disruptive innovations are generating positive change for people and the planet.
Since 2023, the European Innovation Council (EIC) and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) have teamed up to create a more ambitious and far-reaching award, with nine awards in total.
- Category: EIC Innovative Women: Three prizes are awarded for 100,000€, 70,000€ and 50,000€ to the three highest-ranked requests.
- Rising Innovators EIC Category: Three prizes are awarded for 50,000€, 30,000€ and 20,000€ to the three highest-ranked applications from promising women under the age of 35.
- EIT Women Leadership Award: Awarded to exceptional women leaders of the EIT Community. The winner receives 50,000€, and two finalists receive 30,000€ and 20,000€, respectively.
- Beneficiaries: Women, residents in one of the Member States of the European Union, founders or co-founders of innovative projects that are more than 2 years old. To be eligible for the Rising Innovator award, female entrepreneurs must not exceed 35 years of age.
Neotec Women Entrepreneurs
Promotion of innovative ventures led by women, focused on the use of technologies or knowledge derived from research, and whose business strategy focuses on technological development, for the creation of new business projects.
- Type of funding: Grants up to 70% of the action budget, with a maximum grant amount of 250,000 euros per beneficiary.
- Beneficiaries: Innovative small businesses led by women.
- A minimum fundable budget of 175,000 must be submitted for projects lasting 1 or 2 years.
Microbank
It offers microloans without guarantees for women with financial difficulties, through an agreement between La Caixa and the Institute for Women and for Equal Opportunities (IMIO).
- Type of funding: Loan, without the need for guarantees, of up to €25,000 with a 6-year repayment period plus an optional 6-month grace period.
- Beneficiaries: Women who want to consolidate or expand business projects started in a period of less than 5 years or entrepreneurs who have not yet started their activity.
- Main requirements: Beneficiaries must have difficulties (economic or social) to obtain credit through the traditional financial system. In the case of companies, more than 50% of their share capital and management must be held by women.
The Chamber of Commerce, which participates as a collaborating entity, and the Women's Business Support Program (PAEM) offer help for women entrepreneurs in the processing of applications, as well as a six-month support program to ensure the correct consolidation of the projects of all those who are beneficiaries.
Women's Institute for Equal Opportunity
Rural Women's Challenge Program
Its objective is to promote and support the competitiveness of projects led by women, in rural areas. The program, which has been convened annually since 2016, is co-financed by the European Social Fund and offers technical training and personalized advice for all those women entrepreneurs who need it. In addition, participants have the possibility to access the Rural Women's Entrepreneurship Portal, a platform where you can market your products and where you can access all the necessary information about grants, training, competitions, grants, etc.
The year 2021 was born with the collaboration of the University of Santiago de Compostela for Encourage women's entrepreneurship and provide aid to women entrepreneurs in the university environment. The program, which is co-funded by the European Social Fund, offers a training platform for all women interested in the world of scientific and technological entrepreneurship.
In addition, there is the possibility of being able to participate in the Amadrinanet, a sponsorship program where university women with recently created entrepreneurial projects receive the support of other women with extensive and recognized experience in different sectors of the business world.
This initiative, within the framework of the PAEM program, offers the possibility of accessing microfinance of up to 30,000 euros to women who are thinking of creating their own company or promoting and consolidating an already created one.
- Third-party endorsements are not needed from Program beneficiaries.
- They are granted with advantageous conditions.
AWE
Academy for Women entrepreneurs
It is a 3-month training program promoted by the U.S. Embassy in Spain.
The objective of the program is Boosting female talent, creating support networks, at the national and international levels, and providing support to women entrepreneurs with the training and tools necessary to develop viable and successful projects.
Those entrepreneurs who are awarded scholarships will have access to five face-to-face masterclasses and the online DreamBuilder course taught by Thunderbird University of Arizona. In addition, the program offers prizes, including audiovisual material and hours of mentoring, for the most relevant projects.
- Beneficiaries: Women with start-ups created in the last 5 years and women entrepreneurs who want to create a startup, as long as they have developed a minimum viable product that they can launch on the market. To be eligible for scholarships, you must be a resident of Spain.
Enisa
Through the Enisa Digital Entrepreneurs line, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, through the State Secretariat for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, offers funding to promote women-led business projects. This support is independent of the phase in which the company is in (growth, consolidation or internationalization) and the sector they are framing.
Women's Tour
Coca-Cola program that, in its 9th edition, focuses on financial education and the emotional well-being of women entrepreneurs. It offers training and support to develop projects with social and environmental impact.
- Type of funding: The four best projects, selected by a jury, receive seed money from 8,000 euros.
- Beneficiaries: Women resident in Spain, between 18 and 67 years old, employed or unemployed.
Grants by Community 👇👇
Catalunya
The Local Development Agency of Barcelona City Council offers support and individualized support sessions, to women who want to start an entrepreneurial project, to prepare a business plan and to research the different funding options available, among others.
Andalusia
Grants for the creation, consolidation and improvement of SMEs
In Andalusia, women enrolled in the training plans of the Vivem Centers have access to grants for material and immaterial investments. The objective of the grants is for women entrepreneurs to access the necessary resources to start up or consolidate their project.
Community of Madrid
It offers workshops and group sessions to develop and consolidate women-led business projects in rural areas in the north of Madrid. This project has a total of 80 free places, and five workshops will be held online, each lasting three hours, with topics such as entrepreneurship and business planning, digital transformation and business strategies, financial management and sales and personal branding.
Organized by the Madrid City Council, it recognizes innovative projects led by women, with awards of up to 20,000 euros in different categories, including:
- Entrepreneur from Madrid.
- Entrepreneur at the entrepreneurship and innovation centers of the Madrid City Council.
- Entrepreneur with the best Elevator Pitch.
- Entrepreneur with the project with the greatest growth potential and international projection.
- Entrepreneur with the best project in the technological field.
- Entrepreneur with the best project in the field of the so-called orange economy (cultural and creative industries).
- Entrepreneur with the best project in the field of health and well-being.
- Entrepreneur with the best project in the HORECA sector and Food Tech.
- Entrepreneur with the best project in the environmental field.
- Entrepreneur with the best project in the STEM sector.
- Entrepreneur in Retail (retail or retail).
Castilla-La Mancha
A program that, with an investment of 22 million euros, allows self-employed workers, especially young people and women in rural areas, to reduce their costs to zero for the first two years, with the possibility of extending support up to three years.
Grants for the Implementation of Teleworking
Grants of up to 1,200 euros for the conversion of face-to-face positions into telematic positions and up to 3,200 euros for new teleworking contracts, with additional increases of 20% if the position is occupied by a woman.
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Institute for Women (IBDONA) subsidizes this service provided by the Menorca Chamber of Commerce, aimed at advising women entrepreneurs on the island.
