Deadline: April 13, 2026
Applications are open for the Bayer Foundation Women Entrepreneurs Award 2026. The Bayer Foundation Women Entrepreneurs Award is a 6-month accelerator for women founders building proven solutions in health and food security. They are selecting 15 ventures across Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East to strengthen fundamentals and build investor readiness.
Focus Areas
Health
- Cardiovascular Health: Solutions that prevent, detect, and treat cardiovascular conditions, especially climate-related risks such as heat stress and stroke care.
- Women’s Health: Solutions that improve health outcomes across the life cycle, from reproductive health to menopause and other women-specific conditions.
- Oncology: Cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, especially cancers that affect women, like specialised medicine and genomic testing.
- Healthcare Payment Options and Insurance: Models that improve affordability and access through financing, coverage, and flexible payment options for healthcare services.
- Community Health Workers and Digital Health Infrastructure: Tools and systems that strengthen last-mile care by supporting community health workers and expanding access in underserved areas.
Food Security
- Reducing Food Waste: Solutions that cut food loss and waste across production, storage, distribution, retail, and consumption from farm to fork.
- Reducing Malnutrition: Solutions that prevent and reduce malnutrition by improving diets, micronutrient intake, and access to nutritious, affordable food.
- Fair markets and pricing: Models that improve market access, increase transparency, and enable fair pricing and trade for producers, buyers, and consumers.
- Increasing Smallholder Farmer Productivity: Technologies and services that boost yields, strengthen resilience, and increase income for smallholder farmers.
- Water Justice and Sanitation: Solutions that expand clean water and sanitation access, strengthening food systems, nutrition outcomes, and public health.
Benefits
- Access six months of tailored support to strengthen your business fundamentals, sharpen your financials and impact metrics, and prepare for investor-facing moments.
- Travel to Amsterdam (26-30 October 2026) for Awardee Days and the Award Ceremony to pitch your venture, connect with your cohort, and celebrate your achievements.
- Receive €25,000 in non-dilutive funding to grow your business, expand your reach, and invest in what comes next with confidence.
- Share your work on a global stage through storytelling, media exposure, and video content that strengthens your credibility and reach.
- Join the Bayer Foundation women-led alumni movement for peer support, shared visibility, and opportunities to collaborate beyond the program.
- Tap into Impact Hub’s global network and expertise for local ecosystem support, founder connections, and opportunities that help you scale across markets.
Eligibility
- You are a woman founder, co-founder, or senior leader with decision-making power, building a venture beyond the idea stage.
- Your business addresses critical health and/or food security challenges and delivers measurable impact for low- and middle-income communities across Asia, Latin America, Africa and/or the Middle East.
- Your venture has demonstrated traction, with annual revenue of up to USD $1,000,000. You’ve proven your impact business works, now you’re ready to focus on your next stage of growth.
- You operate as a social enterprise (for-profit with a social or environmental mission), a hybrid model (non-profit and for-profit), or a non-profit preparing to launch a for-profit entity within 12–24 months. Your organisation must be incorporated on or before 1 January 2025. Registered charities and sole traders are not eligible.
Application
Your moment to shine! Share your venture, your impact, and your ambitions in health or food security. They are looking for businesses with traction and clear potential to grow.
For more information, visit Bayer Foundation Women Entrepreneurs Award.
