Open Horizons, an initiative financed by Horizon Europe, has announced its third and final Open Call. This call aims to identify and select promising, early-stage, women-led startups in the digital and deep-tech sectors across Europe. The program offers a tailored open innovation experience designed to enhance the capabilities of these startups, providing them with structured pathways to access significant investment and growth opportunities. The initiative seeks to bridge the gender and funding gap by offering equity-free funding, hands-on mentoring, and pilot projects with major corporate partners.
Program Timeline and Key Dates
• Publication Date: 2 March 2026
• Application Opening Date: 2 March 2026
• Application Deadline: 19 May 2026, 17:00 CEST (Brussels time)
• 1st Info Day: 18 March 2026, 10:00 CEST (Brussels time)
• 2nd Info Day: 16 April 2026, 16:00 CEST (Brussels time)
• Announcement of Results: August 2026
Eligibility Criteria
• Geographic Location: The company must be legally established in an EU Member State or a Horizon Europe Associated Country.
• Company Status: Applicants must qualify as an autonomous Small or Medium Enterprise (SME), defined as having fewer than 250 employees and either an annual turnover not exceeding €50 million or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding €43 million.
• Company Age: At the time of submission, the company must be registered for at least 6 months and no more than 6 years.
• Funding Raised: The startup must have raised €1 million or less in equity. This limit includes common or preferred shares but excludes unconverted SAFEs, unconverted convertible notes, grants, loans, or venture debt.
• Leadership and Ownership: The company must be founded or co-founded by a woman who currently holds a top management position (e.g., CEO, CTO, CSO) and owns at least 25% of the company’s shares.
• Sector Focus: The startup must operate in the digital or deep-tech sector, developing breakthrough technologies or leveraging digital technologies as the core of its business model.
• Application Submission: Applications must be submitted exclusively via the Sploro platform.
Corporate Challenges and Technology Domains
Corporate Challenges: Applicants must select and address one published corporate challenges. The proposal should detail how the solution contributes to the selected challenge. Areas addressed include AI for engineering simulations, secure model exchange, intelligent tax solutions, biodegradable materials, AI-powered logistics, food loss upcycling, energy efficiency, sustainable formulation, enterprise AI assistants, forecasting, and industrial process optimisation.
Funding and Program Structure
• Total Budget: The final Open Call has a total budget of €475,000.
• Program Stages: Up to 16 women-led startups will be selected for a 1-month Inception Stage. From this group, up to 7 startups will advance to a 5-month Piloting Stage, collaborating directly with a corporate partner.
• Equity-Free Funding: Each selected startup may receive up to €55,000 in equity-free funding, disbursed based on the achievement of specific milestones.
• Funding Disbursement: The funding is structured as follows: €10,000 after the Inception Stage; €20,000 after the mid-term pilot review; €20,000 after successful pilot completion; and €5,000 after participation in the final Demo Day.
Evaluation and Selection Process
• Initial Screening: Applications will first undergo an eligibility screening and automatic red-flag checks. The red-flag screening assesses the startup's capacity to survive beyond the grant, its orientation toward growth and scaling, its interest in attracting investment, and its focus on digital/deep-tech innovation rather than services.
• Expert Evaluation: Applications that pass the initial screening will proceed to a full evaluation stage, which includes a corporate alignment check and an assessment by independent external evaluators.
• Final Selection: The process concludes with interviews and the final selection of participants.
Application Guidance and Resources
• Official Documentation: Applicants are highly recommended to study the Guidelines for applicants and all related documents available on the Open Horizons website for detailed information on eligibility, challenges, and the application process.
• Common Rejection Reasons: Previous calls have seen rejections due to exceeding the €1M equity limit, the woman founder not holding a management role or owning less than 25% of shares, company age being outside the 6-month to 6-year window, incomplete applications, and misalignment with a corporate challenge.
• Support: For questions regarding the open call, applicants can contact the support channel at oh@sploro.eu.
This third Open Call represents the final opportunity for women-led startups to participate in the Open Horizons project. The program offers a unique combination of equity-free funding, direct collaboration with leading corporations, and structured support designed to accelerate growth and investment readiness. Innovators in the European deep-tech and digital landscape are encouraged to review the criteria and submit their applications to scale their ventures.