European Female Founders
Budget
Not declared
EP Access
0
accredited persons
Staff
4
2.5 FTE
EU Grants
None
Mission & Goals
Overall aim: to inspire, encourage, and take action to support women’s entrepreneurship in order to build a more inclusive and diverse Europe. How they pursue that aim (key action goals): Connect women founders and project leaders with relevant contacts across the territory. Support founders through coaching, mentoring, and co-development working groups. Organize and share informative webinars. Raise awareness among the entrepreneurial ecosystem, public authorities, investors, and society about the challenges women entrepreneurs face. Support relevant and innovative initiatives aligned with the association’s purpose. Promote the dissemination of reports, publications, and scientific work related to women’s entrepreneurship.
EU Legislative Interests
Gender equality and enabling conditions EU Gender Equality Strategy (2020–2025) – umbrella strategy covering gender gaps in work, leadership, stereotypes, and gender mainstreaming across EU action. Work-Life Balance Directive – strengthens leave and flexible-working rights that can affect women’s ability to start/scale businesses. Pay Transparency Directive – targets pay gaps and can shift norms/market practices affecting women’s economic outcomes and leadership pipelines. Women on Boards Directive – boosts women in corporate leadership; relevant for governance pipelines, mentors, and role-model ecosystems. Entrepreneurship, SMEs, and the “startup ecosystem” EU SME Strategy – competitiveness, access to markets/finance, reduced burdens; relevant for founder support and scaling. Single Market Programme (incl. SME support) – funds activities that strengthen SMEs/startups and business networks across Europe. “Startup/Scaleup” policy agenda (various Commission initiatives over time) – actions to improve framework conditions for startups (talent, finance, regulations, market access). Good target for advocacy even when the specific initiative name evolves. Access to finance (a major barrier for women founders) InvestEU – EU-backed guarantees and investment support via financial intermediaries; can influence availability of venture/debt for underrepresented founders. European Investment Fund / EIB Group SME & innovation finance – not a “policy” in the legislative sense, but crucial EU-level financing instruments that shape access to capital. Capital Markets Union (CMU) agenda – reforms aimed at making it easier to raise capital across borders; relevant for venture funding and scaling. Innovation, R&D, and deep tech pathways Horizon Europe – main EU research & innovation programme; includes entrepreneurship/innovation calls and gender equality requirements in many contexts. European Innovation Council (EIC) – supports high-potential innovators (grants + equity); relevant for women-led deep tech/startups. European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) + KICs – entrepreneurship education, accelerators, and innovation ecosystems across sectors. Widening participation / ERA actions (within Horizon Europe) – can support ecosystem-building in regions with weaker innovation capacity. Skills, digital, and workforce pipelines Digital Europe Programme – builds digital capacity (skills, infrastructures) relevant to tech entrepreneurship. European Skills Agenda / Pact for Skills – partnerships and funding pathways to build entrepreneurial and digital skills. Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs – cross-border exchange programme for new entrepreneurs to learn from experienced hosts.
Communication Activities
Quarterly flagship event series: Access to Finance (InvestEU/EIF/EIB, CMU) • EU Funding (Horizon Europe/EIC/EIT) • Scale in the Single Market (SME Strategy/Single Market) • Skills & Digital (Digital Europe/Skills Agenda/Erasmus) Webinars (12x/year): “EU Policy-to-Practice” explainers (1 policy/programme per month) with actionable akeaways. Annual report and briefings: “State of Women Founders in Europe” “Access to Finance Policy Brief” “Scaling & Single Market Barriers Brief” Always-on campaign (social + newsletter): “Founder Stories + Data Cards” linking lived experience to EU priorities (equality, finance, innovation, skills). Stakeholder roundtable (1–2x/year): closed-door dialogue with policymakers/investors/ecosystem actors to agree on 3–5 commitments and publish a short outcomes note.
Interests Represented
Does not represent commercial interests
Member Of
The organization is registered recently and there are no memberships at this point
Organisation Members
https://www.europeanfemalefounders.org/about
Commissioner Meetings
No recorded meetings with EU commissioners.