The 2026 European Women Innovators Award celebrates visionary women

The European Commission announced the winners of the 12th European Women Innovators Awardat theEuropean Innovation Council (EIC) Summit heldin Brussels. This award recognises the pioneering contributions of women entrepreneurs whose innovations drive progress and strengthen Europe’s competitiveness in the global economy.

From groundbreaking advances in healthcare and sustainability to the revolution in space technology and digital traceability, this year’s finalists exemplify the transformative power of women-led innovation.

The award highlights the most outstanding achievements of the winners and finalists across three categories:

1) EIC Women Innovators, for exceptional female founders and co-founders from EU Member States and countries associated withEurope’smulti-billion-euroHorizon Europeprogramme: a prize of €100,000 for the winner, €70,000 and €50,000 for the two finalists respectively.

• Winner:Katerina Spranger(Ukraine/UK), founder and CEO ofOxford Heartbeat, which uses artificial intelligence to improve the safety and accuracy of treatments for brain aneurysms.
• Runner-up: Elena Heber(Germany), co-founder and CEO ofHelloBetter,^{a company}that expands access to mental health care through clinically validated digital therapies and AI-based solutions.
• 3rd place:Judit Camargo Sanromà(Spain), founder and CEO ofRoka Furadada, which tackles the growing threat ofskincancerwith eco-friendly cosmetic ingredients that offer high-performance UV protection whilst safeguarding marine ecosystems.

2) EIC Rising Innovators,  for promising young female innovators under 35:a prize of €50,000 for the winner, and €30,000 and €20,000 for the two runners-up, respectively.

• Winner:Marta Oliveira(Belgium), co-founder and COO ofATMOS Space Cargo, a company that enables reusable space capsules to return safely to Earth from orbit, opening up new research opportunities.
• Second place: Judit Giró Benet(Spain), founder ofThe Blue Box, which is developing a non-invasive^urine-basedtestto improve the early detection of breast cancer, particularly for women who do not have access to traditional screening methods.
• 3rd place: Carin Lightner(Switzerland), co-founder and CEO ofEnantios, a company that accelerates drug discovery through faster and more accurate analysis of complex molecules, paving the way for next-generation medicines.

3) EIT Women Leadership Award, for outstanding members ofthe European Institute of Innovation and Technology(EIT Community): a prize of €50,000 for the winner, and €30,000 and €20,000 for the two runners-up, respectively.

• Winner:Ella Frances Cullen(Portugal), co-founder and marketing director ofMinespider, which is revolutionising supply chain transparency with a blockchain and artificial intelligence platform that provides digital passports for products and batteries, and promotes sustainability and regulatory compliance.
• Runner-up:Stefania Raimondo(Italy), co-founder ofNavhetec, a company driving plant-based nanomedicine by extracting bioactive particles from citrus juice to develop highly effective healthcare products with innovative functionalities.
• 3rd place:Neide Vieira(Portugal),co-founder and COO ofIPLEXMED, a company that accelerates the diagnosis of infectious diseases using graphene-based biosensors that enable portable, rapid testing with laboratory-grade quality.

Background

Jointly managed by theEuropean Innovation Council and the Executive Agency for SMEs (EISMEA)andthe European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), the European Women Innovators Award highlights the vital contribution of women entrepreneurs to shaping the European innovation ecosystem and its long-term competitiveness. Now in its twelfth year, the award not only celebrates their achievements but also inspires the next generation of women and girls to pursue careers in innovation, science and entrepreneurship.

The award is given to women from the EU and countries associated with Horizon Europe whose disruptive innovations generate tangible benefits for society and the planet. Its aim is to highlight their achievements and encourage more women and girls to pursue careers in innovation and entrepreneurship.

More information: European Commission.