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EU Prize for Women Innovators announces this year’s winners

The awards ceremony for the ninth edition of the annual EU Prize for Women Innovators took place in Brussels today.

Launched earlier this year by the European Innovation Council (EIC), €100,000 goes to each of the top three women innovators. And the three winners in the Women Innovators category were: Dr Ciara Clancy, from Ireland, founder and CEO of Beats Medical, a company developing technology solutions to tackle the mobility symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease; Spain’s Rocío Arroyo; co-founder and CEO of AMADIX, a company providing personalised medicine solutions for cancer diagnosis; and Dr Ninna Granucci, from France, co-founder and President of Green Spot Technologies, a company producing food ingredients intended to recycle waste.

In the Rising Innovators category, three winners were selected, and each will receive €50,000. The three are: Niamh Donnelly, co-founder/CRO, Akara Robotics, a company developing robotic solutions designed for disinfecting hospital rooms. “I was always interested in how things worked from a young age and was different, which I came to realise is one of my greatest attributes,” Niamh said, on what was a great day for Ireland.

Iva Gumnishka, founder, Humans in the Loop, a social enterprise connecting conflict-affected communities to digital work opportunities; and Dr Mehak Mumtaz, co-founder, intelligent Lab on Fiber iLoF, a biotech company developing a breakthrough AI-platform to accelerate the future of personalised drug discovery and development, were also named Rising Innovators.

Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, said: “Our women innovators are responsible for some of the most groundbreaking innovations that will contribute to a more sustainable future. The number of women entrepreneurs is increasing but three quarters are still founded by men. I want to close the gender gap because this is good for growth and good for our planet.”

Mariya added: “We must now inspire the next generation. These women have become role models, not just for girls but for boys: they are changing the narrative of women in leadership. Indeed all the finalists are changing the face of innovation in Europe.”

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Written By

Susan is the co-founder of Innovators Magazine and a consultant for OnePoint5Media. Susan is also a member of the UNFCCC-led Resilience Frontiers Nexus group and the Chair of the APOPO Foundation UK board.

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