Request for Implementing Participants of Building Entrepreneurial Capacities for Women in the Agrifood Sector (EWA Programme)

The Empowering Women in Agrifood (EWA) 2026 call seeks qualified and experienced organisations to become Implementing Participants responsible for delivering EIT Food’s flagship female entrepreneurship programme across eligible RIS countries. The call aims to strengthen the agrifood innovation ecosystem by supporting women entrepreneurs at different stages of their entrepreneurial journey, addressing persistent gender gaps in access to skills, networks, funding, and market opportunities.

Selected organisations will join the EWA consortium and implement either Module 2 (Grow) or Module 3 (Advance) during the 2026 programme cycle. Module 2 (Grow) will be delivered locally, in national languages, to early-stage women founders or idea-holders with high potential who need structured support to validate and strengthen their business models. Up to 12 organisations will be selected for this module, including one organisation in Türkiye, one in Ukraine, and up to ten across other eligible RIS countries. Module 3 (Advance) will be delivered by a single organisation at pan-European level, in English, targeting women-led startups with market traction that require support to become investment-ready and scale internationally.

Implementing Participants will be responsible for the full delivery of the programme in their cohort, including outreach and scouting, application evaluation, mentor recruitment, programme design, training delivery, mentoring coordination, ecosystem matchmaking, and organisation of key events such as kick-off sessions, masterclasses, and Demo Days. Each cohort will support up to 10 women entrepreneurs and align with EIT Food priority areas such as resilient agriculture, biotechnology and diversified proteins, while embedding a strong women empowerment perspective throughout all activities.

The programme combines structured training, personalised one-to-one mentoring, ecosystem engagement, and access to financial awards for top-performing participants. Implementing organisations must demonstrate strong operational capacity, relevant agrifood and entrepreneurship expertise, access to local or international innovation ecosystems, and experience delivering EU-funded or comparable support programmes. They are also required to contribute to programme sustainability by securing external sponsorship to support participant prize grants.

The total budget for the call is €658,000, with lump-sum funding of up to €50,000 per selected Module 2 organisation and €58,000 for the Module 3 organisation. Funding is tied to the successful delivery of defined deliverables.