Accelerators for Female Entrepreneurs: 17 Programmes Checked on Cost, Equity, Location and Next Intake
Most lists of accelerators for women founders were copied from each other years ago, and many of the programmes on them have closed, changed their name or stopped taking women-only cohorts. Before you spend weeks on an application, you need four answers: what kind of programme it is, what it costs you in fees or equity, where you have to be, and whether the next intake is open. We checked 17 accelerators, fellowships, competitions, grants and investors for women founders on their own websites on 1 November 2026, from Barclays Eagle Labs and Springboard to the Cartier Women's Initiative and Women TechEU. Each one is labelled by type, because a pitch competition or a venture fund is not an accelerator. Programmes from the 2025 version of this list that closed, changed or could not be verified are in a separate section.
Quick answer: open right now are the Tory Burch Foundation Fellows programme in the US (apply by November 17, 2026), the European Prize for Women Innovators (up to €100,000, closes December 1, 2026) and Women TechEU (€75,000 equity-free for women-led deep tech startups, weekly eligibility cut-offs until July 2027). For a classic cohort, look at Springboard in the US (non-profit, no equity; 2027 Women's Health waitlist), the Barclays Eagle Labs Female Founder Accelerator in the UK (nine weeks; the 2026 cohort is running) and FF+ in Zurich (free, ten weeks). If you are about to raise, Hive Founders and Female Founders Rise run eight-week fundraising accelerators that take no equity, and Astia invests in companies with women in leadership.
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Accelerators for Female Entrepreneurs Compared
Sources: each programme's official website, checked 1 November 2026. "Not published" means the programme's own site does not state it. Terms change between cohorts, so read the official page before you apply.
The 17 Programmes for Women Founders in 2027
The list is grouped by what you get: accelerators first, then programmes that give money without taking equity (fellowships, competitions and grants), then investors. Each entry links the programme's own page. For the general programmes open to any founder, with their investment, equity and next intake, see our guide to accelerators for early-stage startups.
Accelerators
1. Barclays Eagle Labs Female Founder Accelerator (UK)
Barclays Eagle Labs runs its Female Founder Accelerator with AccelerateHER for 100 female founders of UK-registered tech and innovation businesses that are beyond the idea stage, with an MVP built or nearly built and plans to scale within 12 to 18 months. Over nine weeks you get online masterclasses on Friday mornings (marketing, sales and negotiation, pitching with feedback from Investing Women Angels, procurement, finance), one-to-one mentoring from a business angel or experienced founder, peer groups and in-person meet-ups. Plan on about three hours a week. Barclays says it is not an investment-readiness programme; for that, it points to its separate Funding Readiness Programme. Next intake: the 2026 cohort launched on 11 September 2026 and ends on 6 November 2026 (applications closed on 12 June 2026), with the Big Connect event in London on 24 November 2026. Best for: UK tech founders who want structured growth support rather than cash.
Barclays also plans a Women in Agriculture Accelerator for women in UK farming, AgriTech, food production and rural businesses: seven weeks, mostly online, with five regional cohorts. Applications open on 4 January 2027, the programme launches on 22 February 2027 and ends on 23 April 2027.
2. Springboard Enterprises (United States)
Springboard is a non-profit that has backed women-led companies in health and technology for 26 years, and it takes no equity. It now runs sector accelerators: the Women's Health Accelerator, launched in 2024, held its third annual Demo Day in June 2026, and the waitlist for the 2027 programme is open. The newer Longevity Accelerator is for women-led companies from Seed to Series A with traction (revenue, pilots, users or partnerships) in health, care, housing and financial independence for older people. Its 2026 cohort started with a virtual launch in September 2026, meets at HLTH in Las Vegas in November 2026 and pitches at a Demo Day during JPM Week in San Francisco in January 2027. Springboard also runs the New York Fashion Tech Lab with retailers (2026 applications closed) and Dolphin Tank pitch events. Best for: women-led health and longevity companies raising a Seed or Series A round.
3. Hive Founders Investment Readiness Accelerator (online, London)
Hive Founders is a London-based startup consultancy run by women founders. Its Investment Readiness Accelerator is an eight-week programme for pre-seed and seed founders with a live product (or one being built), with weekly one-to-one mentoring, pitch deck and script work, expert sessions on financial models, valuations and IP, three pitch practice sessions and a demo day. Cohort 14 runs with Warwick Business School. It takes no equity, but it is not free: non-US businesses pay £1,000 + VAT upfront and 3% of the amount raised after the round closes (not owed if you do not raise within 24 months), while US businesses pay a fixed fee. For idea-stage founders, its Zero to Launch Incubator costs £1,500 + VAT for nine weeks. Next intake: the page says Cohort 14 kicks off in October and runs to late November or early December. Best for: founders who will raise from angels or VCs in the next few months.
4. FF+ Acceleration Program (Zurich, Switzerland)
The FF+ Acceleration Program is run by the Female Founders Initiative with Founders Hive for Swiss startups incorporated in the last three years, ideally with at least two co-founders, one of them female, and a science, technology or impact focus. The ten weeks cover business model, go-to-market, financials, legal and due diligence, investor relations and pitch training, with weekly two-hour sessions online and workshops in Zurich, ending with a demo day. It is free, but teams that drop out or miss demo day can be charged a CHF 3,000 expense allowance. Next intake: applications for the Fall 2026 cohort closed on 1 October 2026; the next round has not been announced. Best for: Swiss deep tech and impact teams preparing a first round.
5. Female Founders Bootcamp (Europe)
Female Founders, a European community for women in business and tech, runs the Female Founders Bootcamp: four weeks of daily online sessions (office hours, AMAs, 20+ expert sessions on investment readiness, business skills, leadership and founder wellbeing) plus a one-day in-person summit in Europe with investors and corporates. It is for women-led, tech-enabled startups from pre-seed to Series A and costs €500 excluding VAT. Next intake: the page invites applications for the next cohort but does not publish dates. Best for: early-stage European founders who want a short, affordable programme and a network.
6. Female Founders Rise Fundraising Accelerator (UK)
Female Founders Rise is a free UK community for women and non-binary founders, founded in 2022. Its Fundraising Accelerator is an eight-week online programme (Friday sessions) on funding types, pitch decks, pitch practice, pitching to investors and investor outreach, followed by the Raise Circle alumni group with investor office hours. To apply you need a UK-registered business that is raising, or will raise, within three months, with a pitch deck and, where eligible, SEIS/EIS advance assurance. FFR says its support comes without giving up equity; the accelerator fee is not published. Next intake: waitlist. Best for: UK founders about to open an angel round.
7. FemTech Lab Fundraising Sprint (online)
FemTech Lab is a platform for founders in women's health, with a focus on the UK, Europe and the US, and its alumni range from fertility and menopause startups to period care brands. Note that it is built around the women's health sector rather than around the founder's gender. Its current programme is the Fundraising Sprint, a four-week online cohort for founders raising capital in women's health, plus a weekly "Meet the Investor" series. Next intake: the page lists a November Sprint and says the January Sprint is "opening soon"; the fee is not published. Best for: femtech founders who need investor introductions.
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Grants, fellowships and competitions (equity-free)
8. Women TechEU (European Union)
Women TechEU is an EU scheme for early-stage deep tech startups led by women. The European Innovation Council announced on 12 June 2026 that it continues with €12 million: 160 startups will each get €75,000 in non-dilutive funding plus a personalised business development programme, and 40% of the budget is reserved for companies in Widening countries. Applications have two phases: an eligibility check, with cut-offs every Tuesday at 17:00 Brussels time from 30 June 2026 until 13 July 2027, and then a full proposal. Best for: women CEOs or CTOs of European deep tech startups. Read our full guide to Women TechEU.
9. European Prize for Women Innovators (competition)
The European Prize for Women Innovators, awarded by the EIC and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, is a prize, not an accelerator. Women who founded or co-founded an innovative company in the EU or a Horizon Europe associated country can apply as individuals in one of three categories: EIC Women Innovators (€100,000, €70,000 and €50,000), EIC Rising Innovators under 35 (€50,000, €30,000 and €20,000) and the EIT Women Leadership Award (€50,000, €30,000 and €20,000). Deadline: the call is open from 2 September until 1 December 2026, 17:00 CET. Best for: founders whose innovation is already on the market.
10. Tory Burch Foundation Fellows (United States)
The Tory Burch Foundation Fellows Program is a fellowship for US women entrepreneurs who own the largest stake in a for-profit business that is at least 51% women-owned and earns at least $75,000 a year, with no maximum. Fellows get coaching, advisors, a $2,000 education grant, founder wellbeing support and access to further financial support, and applying is free. Next intake: applications opened on September 22, 2026 and close on November 17, 2026 at 11:59:59 ET; review runs through winter 2026-27 and Fellows are selected in May 2027. Best for: US small business owners with steady revenue, not only tech startups.
11. Cartier Women's Initiative (global competition)
The Cartier Women's Initiative, founded in 2006, is an annual international programme for women-run impact businesses from any country and sector. It is a competition with a fellowship attached: three fellows are chosen in each of nine regions, plus a Science and Technology Pioneer award, and first, second and third places receive $100,000, $60,000 and $30,000 grants, along with INSEAD training, coaching and media exposure. Applicants need annual revenue between $50,000 and $5 million, 5 to 250 team members and no more than $2 million of dilutive funding. Next intake: the 2026 fellows were announced on March 26, 2026, and applications for the 2027 edition are already closed. Best for: revenue-stage impact businesses outside the usual VC path.
12. Women Founders Network Fast Pitch (United States)
Women Founders Network, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, runs an annual pitch competition for US-based businesses with a woman founder, co-founder or CEO, or majority women ownership, that have raised no more than $750K. Ten finalists get pitch coaching, financial mentoring and free professional services, then compete at UCLA in October for $55,000 in cash grants: $25K for the winner of each track (tech and consumer) and $5K chosen by its Junior Venture Capitalists. Nonprofits, life sciences and cannabis companies are not eligible, and finalists pay their own travel. Next intake: applications for the 2027 competition are accepted from April 1 to May 31, 2027. Best for: early US founders who want pitch coaching and a cash prize.
13. Visa She's Next (grants by country)
Visa runs She's Next as country-by-country grant programmes with mentoring, not as one global accelerator. In Ireland, the 2026 programme was open from 9 March to 9 April 2026 to small businesses majority-owned by women, with three categories (general small business, early stage under three years, and social enterprise); five winners shared €90,000: €50,000 for the overall winner and €10,000 each for four others, announced in Dublin on September 8, 2026. Other countries run their own rounds and dates, so check Visa's site for your country. Best for: small women-owned businesses that want a grant and a mentor.
14. Google for Startups Women Founders Fund and Growth Academy
The Google for Startups Women Founders Fund gives selected women-led startups (at least one woman founder working full time, pre-seed to Series A) up to $100K in equity-free cash, Google Cloud credits, mentoring and leadership training. Its page says that no Women Founders Fund is available at the moment; the last listed edition targeted responsible AI startups in India, Japan and Korea. Google also ran a six-week, equity-free Growth Academy: Women in AI for pre-seed startups with a female founder in the Middle East and North Africa, with sessions in Dubai and Riyadh; applications are closed. Best for: watching for the next regional edition.
15. Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women (free education)
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women is a free online business education programme available worldwide in English, French, Hindi, Brazilian Portuguese and Latin American Spanish, with an in-person version in India and an access-to-capital partnership with the IFC for entrepreneurs in emerging markets. It is a course, not an accelerator. Best for: women running small businesses who want structured training at no cost.
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Investors for women-led startups (not accelerators)
16. Astia
Astia invests from a venture fund in high-growth companies with at least one woman in a C-suite role who holds significant equity. Companies must be beyond the concept stage with traction or market validation; Astia says pre-seed companies are generally too early. Instead of a first meeting, founders submit a profile and a one- to two-page executive summary on the Astia Connect platform, and a network of experts screens it in its Expert Sift process; every applicant gets feedback. Best for: seed-stage companies with revenue or regulatory progress.
17. Female Founders Fund
Female Founders Fund is a New York venture firm that has invested in female founders since 2014. Its site lists digital healthcare, AI-first vertical software, beauty and personal care, pet, and deep tech as focus areas. It also hosts Camp FFF, an invite-only retreat for female founders, held on June 8-10, 2026 in Montauk. It does not run an application-based accelerator. Best for: US founders with a fundraise in progress.
Programmes From the 2025 List That Closed or Changed
The 2025 versions of this article (top 15, top 20 and top 25 lists, now merged here) relied on directory sites. Here is what we found on the official sites:
- Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders: its old page now returns "not found" and Google's list of regional accelerators no longer includes a women founders track. Google's women-specific offers are now the Women Founders Fund (none open) and the Growth Academy: Women in AI (closed); see above.
- AWS Impact Accelerator (women founders cohort): AWS's startup programmes page lists only the AWS Inference Fellowship. In July 2025 AWS and Techstars launched AWS Impact Bootcamps: two-day bootcamps in six cities for underrepresented founders, women included, with $5,000 in AWS credits.
- Morgan Stanley Multicultural Innovation Lab: now Morgan Stanley Inclusive & Sustainable Ventures, a five-month in-house accelerator with an equity investment for startups (grants for nonprofits) across environment, health, economic empowerment and education themes. It is no longer women-specific; the 2026 deadline was March 31, 2026 and it is not taking applications now.
- Founder Institute Female Founder Program: there is no separate women's programme. The Founder Institute runs its general pre-seed accelerator in many cities, and some chapters have offered female founder fellowships (free places).
- Women's Entrepreneurship Accelerator (WEA): its old domain now redirects to an unrelated gambling site, so we removed it.
- Anthemis Female Innovators Lab: Anthemis presents itself as a venture investor and its site no longer shows a Female Innovators Lab.
- Women's Startup Lab: the Silicon Valley programme's site lists no upcoming cohort or event dates, so we could not confirm a current intake.
- Left out because we found no current official women-founder programme: Village Capital's US Women in Tech accelerator, SheEO Activator, the Women's Startup Challenge (venturecapital.org now redirects elsewhere), Women's Venture Fund, Startup Ladies, a Techstars programme for women, SeedInvest's women initiative, the Bayer Foundation Women Entrepreneurs Award, EIT Food's women in agrifood programme, DigitalHealth.London, FoundHer, RiseUp, Women Tech Founders Accelerator, Her Startup Accelerator, TRACTOR, Diversity in Tech Accelerator, SHE Startup Certification, Feminine Leadership Accelerator and Rise Women in Leadership.
Which Programme Should You Choose?
- You want a cohort and a network in the UK: Barclays Eagle Labs (next Women in Agriculture intake opens January 4, 2027), Female Founders Rise or Hive Founders.
- You want equity-free money: Women TechEU (€75,000), the European Prize for Women Innovators, the Cartier Women's Initiative, Women Founders Network Fast Pitch or Visa She's Next in your country; see our grants for female entrepreneurs, the grants for female entrepreneurs in Europe and the grants for women entrepreneurs in Asia.
- You are about to raise: Hive Founders, Female Founders Rise or FemTech Lab, then Astia or Female Founders Fund for the round itself.
- You build in women's health or longevity: Springboard's accelerators and FemTech Lab.
- You run a revenue-stage small business in the US: Tory Burch Foundation Fellows (apply by November 17, 2026).
- You are in Switzerland or elsewhere in Europe: FF+ in Zurich, the Female Founders Bootcamp, and our guides to startup incubators in Europe and deep tech accelerators in Europe.
- You build with AI: mixed-gender programmes are often bigger; compare them in our list of accelerators for AI startups.
How Women Founders Use Accelerators, and What to Do Around Them
An accelerator is one tool, not a plan. Before you apply, show that customers want your product: run our 30-day validation sprint or validate your startup idea with our content-driven service, because almost every programme here asks about traction. If you are earlier than that, Fe/male Switch, the startup game and online incubator for women that publishes this blog, lets you build and test an idea with AI co-founders before you apply anywhere. Know the numbers investors will quote at you: our female founder funding statistics and research on EU funding for female entrepreneurs show where the money goes. Avoid the common pre-seed fundraising mistakes, and when a programme ends, line up investors from our lists of early-stage VC firms, angel investors in North America and angel investors in Europe. Pitch competitions and events are cheaper ways to test your pitch: see the startup competitions in Europe and in North America, and the startup events for female entrepreneurs. For how accelerators work in general, read our guide to startup accelerators.
FAQ About Accelerators for Female Entrepreneurs
What is the best accelerator for female entrepreneurs in 2027?
It depends on your stage and country. For a cohort and network: Springboard in the US, Barclays Eagle Labs in the UK or FF+ in Switzerland. For equity-free money: Women TechEU, the European Prize for Women Innovators or the Cartier Women's Initiative. For fundraising help: Hive Founders or Female Founders Rise.
Which programmes for women founders are open for applications now?
As checked on 1 November 2026: Tory Burch Foundation Fellows (until November 17, 2026), the European Prize for Women Innovators (until December 1, 2026), Women TechEU (weekly eligibility cut-offs until July 13, 2027) and Astia (any time). Barclays' Women in Agriculture Accelerator opens on January 4, 2027 and Women Founders Network Fast Pitch on April 1, 2027.
Is the Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders still running?
Not as a separate accelerator: its old page no longer exists. Google's Women Founders Fund offers up to $100K equity-free, but no fund is open at the moment, and the Growth Academy: Women in AI in the Middle East and North Africa is closed.
Is the AWS Impact Accelerator for women founders still running?
AWS no longer lists it; its programmes page shows only the AWS Inference Fellowship. In July 2025 AWS and Techstars launched AWS Impact Bootcamps, two-day programmes for underrepresented founders, women included, with $5,000 in AWS credits.
Which accelerators for women take no equity?
Springboard is a non-profit and takes no equity, FF+ is free, and Hive Founders and Female Founders Rise take no equity (Hive charges a fee plus 3% of the amount raised). Fellowships, competitions and grants such as Tory Burch, Cartier, the EU prize, Women TechEU and Visa She's Next take no equity either.
Is the Cartier Women's Initiative an accelerator?
No. It is an annual competition with a fellowship: three fellows per region win $100,000, $60,000 or $30,000 grants plus training and coaching. Applications for the 2027 edition are closed.
How much is the Women TechEU grant?
€75,000 in non-dilutive funding per startup, plus a business development programme. 160 startups will be selected from a €12 million budget, with eligibility cut-offs every Tuesday until July 13, 2027.
What is the Barclays Eagle Labs Female Founder Accelerator?
A nine-week programme for 100 UK female founders of tech and innovation businesses beyond the idea stage, with online masterclasses, mentoring and meet-ups. The 2026 cohort ends on November 6, 2026; it does not invest in companies.
Are there accelerators for women in femtech and women's health?
Yes: Springboard's Women's Health Accelerator (waitlist for 2027) and FemTech Lab's four-week online Fundraising Sprint. Springboard's Longevity Accelerator covers women-led companies building for healthy ageing.
How can I get my startup in front of accelerators and investors?
Get covered where programme managers, investors and AI assistants look: you can publish a guest post in the Fe/male Switch startup blogs. Get featured and earn a backlink.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
