Open Call: Female Founders Innovation Grant Competition (UK)

The focus areas of this opportunity are the viability and commercial potential of innovative business ideas, concept/prototype development, market research, market validation, market testing activities, assessment of uniqueness of IP, and employment costs where a clear output will be delivered.

This funding opportunity invites female innovators across Northern Ireland to apply for financial support that can help kickstart new ventures or expand existing businesses into new products or markets. Grants will be awarded through the Techstart Ventures Proof of Concept Grant Fund, with successful applicants also receiving valuable business mentoring from Women in Business.

To apply, eligible applicants must be a Sole Trader, Partnership, or Limited Company with an innovative business idea, and must reside in Northern Ireland. If applying through a Limited Company, the company must be registered in Northern Ireland and the principal applicant must be the majority shareholder. Applications requiring funding for employment costs must come from Limited Companies, and applicants must identify proposed suppliers for all independent third-party costs.

The program supports a wide range of activities including software or hardware concept development, UI/UX design, prototype or MVP creation, market research and sizing, customer validation, trade show participation, testing routes to market, patent searches, and specific employment costs that contribute to defined outputs within the Proof of Concept project. Applicants must not have previously received a grant of up to £35k from Techstart Ventures.

Through this initiative, Techstart Ventures and Women in Business aim to strengthen female entrepreneurship, stimulate innovation, and empower women-led ventures to test, validate, and develop new ideas with strong commercial potential.

For more information, visit Techstart Ventures.