Innovate UK to launch first women-only entrepreneurship competition

Innovate UK is to launch its first women-only competition. The innovation agency will be giving female entrepreneurs the opportunity to share their innovative ideas and help the economy to grow.

The competition has been launched as part of a new initiative to bring more diversity into innovation and boost the UK economy.

Encourage

The agency will be investing £200,000 in the competition to help get more women into business.

The competition comes after recent reports highlighted that there are fewer women in business than men, with men being three times more likely to own a business with employees and women being half as likely to set up their own business.

The agency will be selecting 12 finalists for the competition, who will receive a tailored support package. A cash prize of £50,000 will be awarded to four winners to help support their ideas.

Those who enter will also have the opportunity to receive mentoring from businesses leaders from well-known organisations such as Facebook and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Awards

The agency will be presenting 12 awards, which will cover sectors such as manufacturing and materials, infrastructure systems, emerging and enabling technologies and health and life sciences.

The competition is open to any women in the UK who have experience with business innovation, as well as those working across the agency’s four sectors. Entrants can be a company owner, an employee or a sole trader or entrepreneur from a business of any size.

Applications are open from today and the deadline is 31st August.