Open Call for Women-Led Deep-Tech Startups

The EPIC-X Open Call for Women-Led Deep-Tech Startups is a European initiative funded under Horizon Europe's European Innovation Ecosystems program, focusing on empowering women-led deep-tech startups across 16 moderate and emerging innovator countries. The aim is to foster growth, innovation, and regional excellence in areas with underrepresentation in tech entrepreneurship. Each selected startup will receive an equity-free lump sum grant of €60,000 to enhance their business strategy, accelerate market growth, and build innovation capacity through a six-month Acceleration+ Programme that includes €20,000 dedicated to personalized business coaching.

This open call is the only opportunity available during the project's duration, supporting a total of 20 startups across the targeted countries, which are defined by the 2023 European Innovation Scoreboard. The application process opens on November 3, 2025, and closes on January 5, 2026, at 17:00 CET. Applications must be submitted electronically in English.

The complete application includes administrative details, a project description, an ethics self-assessment, formal declarations, a projected budget, and a mandatory 2-minute pitch video along with several annexes such as a legal entity form, a women's leadership declaration, a custom coaching plan, market validation documents, and a declaration of honor.

The evaluation process consists of three stages:
1. Administrative and eligibility check.
2. Evaluation of projects in a two-stage process, first through relevancy pre-screening based on pitch videos and project summaries, then in-depth evaluations based on full application materials.
3. Final ranking and selection based on scores and additional criteria, ensuring fair geographic representation.

The program emphasizes the importance of supporting early-stage women-led deep-tech ventures, which are crucial for bridging gender and regional innovation gaps in Europe. The expected success rate is low, reflective of high competition with only 20 grants available. Overall, the EPIC-X initiative significantly aims to support women entrepreneurs in deep-tech, providing both financial backing and key mentoring resources necessary for their growth and sustainability.

The EPIC-X Open Call for Women-Led Deep-Tech Startups is a European acceleration initiative designed to empower women-led deep-tech startups to grow, connect, and scale across Europe. It is funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE) programme. The initiative focuses on 16 moderate and emerging innovator countries, helping close the innovation gap and strengthen regional excellence.

This open call provides equity-free Lump Sum Grants to selected startups. Each selected company will receive a 60,000 EUR grant to strengthen its business strategy, accelerate market growth, and enhance its innovation capacity within the six-month Acceleration+ Programme. This includes 20,000 EUR dedicated to 15-20 days for personalised business coaching.

This is the only open call to be implemented within the project’s duration, supporting a total of 20 women-led startups across the 16 moderate and emerging innovator countries (as defined in the 2023 European Innovation Scoreboard).

The opening date for submissions is November 3, 2025. The deadline for submissions is January 5, 2026, at 16:00 (Brussels time). The deadline model is single-stage. The expected duration of participation is 6 months, corresponding to the EPIC-X Acceleration+ Programme. The total funding available is 1,200,000.00 EUR. The project acronym is EPIC-X. The full name of the EU funded project is Excelling deep tech through place-based innovation and connected ecosystems for women-led start-ups. The grant agreement number is 101193579. The topic is HORIZON-EIE-2024-CONNECT-01-02 - Startup Europe.

The Application form consists of a single document to be completed and submitted by each applicant. It must include administrative information about the applicant, a description of the proposed project or action (aligned with the evaluation criteria), an Ethics Self-Assessment, formal declarations, and a projected budget. In addition, applicants are required to upload a 2-minute pitch video and the supporting documents to the verification of the eligibility of the applicant, namely:

Annex 1: Legal Entity Form and official related supporting documents
Annex 2: Women’s leadership declaration and description of the leadership structure
Annex 3: Business coaching plan
Annex 4: Market fit or/and investment documents
Annex 5 (found within the last section of the online application form): Declaration of Honour

Important notes for submission:
The application must be submitted by January 5, 2026 at 17:00 CET.
The application must be submitted electronically through the EU Survey Link; paper or email submissions are not accepted.
The application must be submitted in English.
The application must respect the number of characters, as indicated in each section of the Application form.
The application must be submitted by an eligible applicant (review section 2.2 of the full Open Call Guidelines).

Applicants are allowed to submit multiple proposals for different projects under this call. However, only one proposal can be awarded funding, as the maximum grant limit of 60,000 EUR per third party/beneficiary applies under the Financial Support to Third Parties mechanism. If there are several proposals for very similar projects, only one application will be accepted and evaluated; the applicants will be asked to withdraw one of them (or it will be rejected).

All submitted applications will be assessed through a clear, fair, and transparent evaluation process, based on predefined criteria aligned with the objectives of the EPIC-X project. The evaluation and selection process will adhere to EU standards of transparency, equal treatment, conflict of interest and confidentiality.

The evaluation process consists of the following steps:

Step A: Administrative & Eligibility Check
The EPIC-X Consortium will complete the Administrative and Eligibility Check. Only those applications that meet all requirements will pass to Step B.

Step B: Evaluation of Eligible Projects
All admissible and eligible applications will be evaluated by a panel of jury members, made up by consortium partners and the ecosystem builder representing the applicant's respective country. Each application will be assessed by four jury members following a two-stage process, first reviewing the summary and pitch-video, and then the full application dossier. To uphold the integrity of the evaluation, all jurors are required to sign a declaration of confidentiality and absence of conflict of interest, and must adhere to strict standards of impartiality, transparency, and fairness throughout the process. Any juror with direct or indirect interest in an application will be excluded from evaluation of that proposal. The evaluation will be based on a two-stage approach:

B.1. Stage 1 – Relevancy Pre-Screening
Jury pairs will assess the summary section and the 2-minute pitch video of each application. This assessment will be conducted on a scale from 0 to 10 points, reflecting the degree of relevancy alignment with the objectives of EPIC-X and the Open Call. Only proposals that achieve an average score equal to or above the threshold of 5 points will move forward. From these, a maximum of the 15 highest-ranking proposals per country will be shortlisted to proceed to stage B.2 Stage 2 – In-Depth Full Application and Evaluation.

B.2. Stage 2 – In-Depth Full Application Evaluation
Each juror will conduct an in-depth full application evaluation. The Evaluation will be based on a 100-point score considering the criteria and weighting as per full Open Call Guidelines.

Step C: Ranking and Selection
A Ranking Meeting will be held with all jurors. During this meeting, the numerical rankings will be presented, based on the outcomes of the Stage 2 – In-Depth Full Application Evaluation plus the awarding of bonus points. Applicants will receive 5 bonus points if they can demonstrate prior recognition as a scale-up or innovator within key EU or national programmes. Specifically, if they have been identified as a scale-up in Horizon Europe (e.g., through the EIC Scaleup 100 or EIT-supported companies), are part of the Digital Europe Programme (e.g., through European Digital Innovation Hubs), or have received funding from national programmes, particularly those certified under the “Plug-in” schemes.

Based on the final scores, a ranking list will be established. The top-ranked application in each of the 16 eligible countries will be awarded. In addition, the four highest-scoring proposals across all 16 countries will also receive funding, respecting a maximum limit of three awarded beneficiaries per country. This ranking process ensures a fair, transparent, and balanced distribution of support, promoting geographical diversity and excellence across all participating regions.

In the event of a tie in the final scores, the following criteria will be applied sequentially to determine the final ranking:
Final score in the C.1 Quality and Feasibility of the Work Plan
Final score in the A.1 Relevance to the EPIC-X Scope
Final score in the B.1 Impact on Growth, Market Positioning and Sustainability

Before applying, applicants are encouraged to consult the following resources and support channels:
Official Open Call Publication: The EPIC-X Open Call to Support Multi-Actor Teams Initiatives is published on the Funding & Tenders Portal of the European Commission.
Contact for Questions and Support: For any questions related to the application process, eligibility, or technical support, applicants can reach out to the EPIC-X team at general@epic-x.eu. This technical support is available until 24 hours before the deadline.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): The EPIC-X website provides details about eligible activities, selection, reporting, and contractual matters.
Attend the Webinar – Information Sessions: Webinars provide an overview of the call objectives, application procedure, and tips for success.
Webinar #1: November 17, 2025, 11h00 – 12h00 CET
Webinar #2: December 4, 2025, 11h00 – 12h00 CET
Webinar #3: December 15, 2025, 11h00 – 12h00 CET

The EPIC-X Open Call is an EU-funded initiative aimed at boosting women-led deep-tech startups in moderate and emerging innovation countries. It offers a 60,000 EUR equity-free grant, including business coaching, to help these startups scale and grow. The application process involves submitting a detailed proposal, a pitch video, and several supporting documents. Applications are evaluated in a multi-stage process by a panel of experts. The goal is to support 20 startups, with a focus on geographical diversity and excellence. This program is designed to bridge the innovation gap and strengthen regional innovation ecosystems by providing financial support and coaching to promising women-led ventures in the deep-tech sector.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant type is women-led deep-tech startups.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically an equity-free Lump Sum Grant.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity is for a single applicant.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is focused on 16 moderate and emerging innovator countries as defined in the 2023 European Innovation Scoreboard. While the specific countries are not listed in the provided text, they are within the EU framework.

Target Sector: The target sector is DeepTech.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity targets 16 moderate and emerging innovator countries as defined in the 2023 European Innovation Scoreboard.

Project Stage: The project stage is aimed at startups, implying a stage of development, validation, or scale-up. The grant aims to strengthen business strategy, accelerate market growth, and enhance innovation capacity.

Funding Amount: The funding amount is €60,000 per selected startup. The total funding available is €1,200,000.

Application Type: The application type is an open call.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant and non-monetary services in the form of personalized business coaching.

Application Stages: The application process involves three steps: Step A: Administrative & Eligibility Check, Step B: Evaluation of Eligible Projects (with two stages: Relevancy Pre-Screening and In-Depth Full Application Evaluation), and Step C: Ranking and Selection.

Success Rates: The success rate is not explicitly stated, but the call supports 20 women-led startups out of the applications received from 16 countries. The text mentions that the top-ranked application in each of the 16 eligible countries will be awarded, and an additional four highest-scoring proposals across all 16 countries will also receive funding.

Co-funding Requirement: The grant is equity-free, suggesting that co-funding is not explicitly required.

Summary:

The EPIC-X initiative, funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE) program, is launching an open call to support women-led deep-tech startups in 16 moderate and emerging innovator countries. The goal is to empower these startups to grow, connect, and scale across Europe, bridging the innovation gap and strengthening regional excellence. Each selected startup will receive a €60,000 equity-free lump sum grant to enhance their business strategy, accelerate market growth, and boost their innovation capacity through a six-month Acceleration+ Programme, which includes €20,000 dedicated to 15-20 days of personalized business coaching. A total of 20 startups will be supported.

The application process involves submitting a single document that includes administrative information, a project description, an ethics self-assessment, formal declarations, and a projected budget. Applicants must also upload a 2-minute pitch video and supporting documents, including a legal entity form, a women’s leadership declaration, a business coaching plan, and market fit or investment documents. The application must be submitted electronically in English by January 5, 2026, at 16:00 Brussels time.

The evaluation process consists of an administrative and eligibility check, followed by a two-stage evaluation of eligible projects by a panel of jury members. The first stage involves assessing the summary and pitch video for relevancy, while the second stage involves an in-depth evaluation of the full application. Bonus points are awarded to applicants with prior recognition as a scale-up or innovator within key EU or national programs. A ranking list will be established based on the final scores, and the top-ranked application in each of the 16 eligible countries will be awarded. Additionally, the four highest-scoring proposals across all 16 countries will also receive funding, with a maximum limit of three awarded beneficiaries per country. Tie-breaking criteria include the quality and feasibility of the work plan, relevance to the EPIC-X scope, and impact on growth, market positioning, and sustainability. The EPIC-X project aims to support women-led deep-tech startups through financial grants and business coaching, fostering innovation and growth within the European deep-tech ecosystem.