About WE Innovate National
Transforming the landscape for women-led innovation across the UK
WE Innovate National is a coordinated, multi-university initiative delivering a structured, high-impact, equity-free entrepreneurship programme to women founders across all four nations of the UK. It builds on Imperial’s successful six‑month, three‑phase pre-accelerator, which has supported over 550 women and helped ventures raise more than £88 million.
As Professor Maggie Dallman, Associate Provost (Societal Engagement) and WE Innovate Advisory Board member, says:
“We believe that the best way to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges – whether in health, climate change, or social inequality – is by empowering individuals from all backgrounds to bring their ideas to life.”
WE Innovate National exists to:
Address the persistent gender gap in entrepreneurship, particularly in technical and technology-led startups.
Equip women with the confidence, networks, and entrepreneurial skills needed to become successful founders.
Build a thriving, inclusive innovation ecosystem where women can access the support, visibility, and funding they need.
Support the UK economy by unlocking the vast economic potential of female entrepreneurship.
WE Innovate National responds directly to findings from the 2019 Rose Review, which highlights that women start businesses at half the rate of men and receive less than 5% of UK venture capital funding. Women are systematically underrepresented at the top across the UK innovation and startup space, a gap that is costing the UK economy an estimated £250 – £310 billion.
Many women self-select out of entrepreneurship at the idea stage, before ever approaching investors. WE Innovate National is working to change this across all four corners of the UK.
Together, this consortium expands opportunities for women founders to connect with start-ups, mentors, investors, and industry leaders from across the UK, strengthening pathways from university research to scalable, innovation‐led companies.
WE Innovate National aims to provide access to networks and capital outside London, supporting high-growth, IP-rich ventures tied directly to the UK’s economic growth and industrial strategy agenda.
Why WE Innovate Stands Out
WE Innovate National offers:
- A proven curriculum combining expert-led masterclasses, coaching, and mentoring.
- Grant funding of £5,000 at each participating university for teams to develop prototypes, design business experiments and conduct market research.
- Access to grants for childcare or other caring responsibilities.
- Equity-free funding, including a £30,000 prize fund at each participating university.
- Access to industry experts, alumni networks, and investor communities.
- A supportive environment designed intentionally for women balancing academic, professional, and caregiving responsibilities.
- Long-term support pathways, including access to later stage accelerators and enterprise support.
A decade of proven impact
Since 2014, the programme has:
Supported over 600 women through the programme.
Enabled over £88m to be raised by supported ventures through investment and grants.
Created the UK’s first national university
network for women entrepreneurs.
From 2026, will be supporting 175 teams annually.
Discover more
Browse success stories to learn more about the programme’s unique ability to help women transform early ideas into thriving, IP-rich, high-growth ventures.
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