For anyone working in the European innovation ecosystem, the underrepresentation of women in deep-tech entrepreneurship is a well-known challenge.
The EmpoWomen project (a Horizon Europe-funded initiative and sister programme to Open Horizons) published a whitepaper attempting to analyse this challenge, find out what works and how it can be improved. The research draws on a structured empirical study comparing funded and unfunded cohorts of women-led deep-tech startups across revenue, team growth, equity dilution, and market traction.
The main finding? EU public funding helps women-led deep-tech startups to transform and grow.
What the research found
The study compared two groups of women-led deep-tech startups: those who received EU public funding, and high-potential peers who did not. The difference in outcomes, measured in the year following programme participation, was clear. Funded startups were able to translate technical progress into business value, while the unfunded cohort saw significant declines.
Perhaps even more telling is what the data shows about ownership. Both cohorts saw their equity dilution increase over the period (meaning founders gave away shares to raise capital). But the funded group diluted at nearly half (29%) the rate of the unfunded group (62%). Put simply, grants gave founders a way to grow without having to give up as much ownership in the process.
Why this matters, and why it’s structural
The whitepaper doesn’t frame this as a story about individual talent. It frames it as a story about access.
Only 14% of European startup founders are women, and women-led ventures receive less than 2% of total venture capital. That gap isn’t explained by the quality of ideas or the capabilities of founders. It’s explained by the persistent, informal gatekeeping that characterizes predominantly male private investment networks.
For many women-led deep-tech startups, EU public funding is often not just the first, but the only accessible source of external capital.
That makes programmes like EmpoWomen – or Open Horizons and other related initiatives – not just a nice-to-have. They are a structural correction to a market that is leaving talent and innovation on the table.
The strategic argument for inclusive funding
Europe’s deep-tech competitiveness depends on activating its full innovation potential. The EmpoWomen research puts evidence behind what many have long argued: targeted public support unlocks growth that would otherwise never materialize. The case for supporting women-led startups isn’t only ethical: it’s economic.
The whitepaper goes further, offering twelve strategic policy recommendations to embed gender equity across the EU’s innovation funding landscape: check them here.
Open Horizons on the same side: supporting women-led deeptech startups
Open Horizons exists through three Open Calls. It provides women-led digital and deep-tech startups with the link to real corporate partners, equity-free funding of up to €55,000, and structured mentoring.
Open Call #3, final call of the programme, is open until 19 May 2026.
If you are building something that matters, and you have been waiting for the right moment: this is it.
Apply to Open Horizons Open Call #3: https://tinyurl.com/open-horizons-oc3
Read the full EmpoWomen whitepaper: https://empowomen.eu/new-research-proves-eu-public-funding-is-a-critical-catalyst-for-women-led-deep-tech-growth/