The aim of this competition is to find women with exciting, innovative ideas and ambitious plans that will inspire others. The awards are for women founders, co-founders or senior decision makers working in businesses that have been operating for at least one year.

Applicants must be confident, with the support of an award, that they can make a significant contribution to a pressing societal, environmental or economic challenge through their innovative project.

The competition is split into 2 phases. In the application phase 1, the awards will be assessed by independent experts. In the interview phase 2, the shortlisted applicants will be interviewed by a panel of experts.

Project size

Each award will provide £50,000 of funding. Awards must start on 1 April 2023 and will last for one year.

Eligibility

Your award must:

• have a total grant funding request of £50,000
• start on 1 April 2023
• end on 31 March 2024
• last for 12 months

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 organisation

To be eligible for an award you must:

• be a woman founder, co-founder or senior decision maker within a UK registered micro, small or medium (SME) business which has been operating for at least 12 months by the competition closing date
• be resident in the UK
• carry out your project work in the UK
• intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
• be legally and contractually able to use the funding
• be available to attend an online interview panel during the weeks beginning 5 December and 12 December 2022
• attend 2 bootcamps on the week commencing 20 March 2023 and in September 2023.
• be fully committed to volunteer as a role model for up to 5 days over the duration of the award

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

Subcontractors

• Subcontractors are allowed in this competition.
• Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process.
• You can use subcontractors from overseas but must make the case in your application as to why you could not use suppliers from the UK.

You must provide a detailed rationale, evidence of the potential UK contractors you approached and the reasons why they were unable to work with you. We will not accept a cheaper cost as a sufficient reason to use an overseas subcontractor.

All subcontractor costs must be justified and appropriate to the total project costs

Number of applications

• You can only make one application for yourself.
• More than one woman working within the same organisation can apply.
• The awards are for individuals, but this does not prevent you from working on the project with others.