Post by Innovate UK

This International Women’s Day, we’re championing the trailblazing women who are shaping the UK’s future. This is about women like Samantha, Lia, Emma, Ese, Beren - and hundreds more - who are improving lives, strengthening communities and driving economic growth. The numbers that follow matter because they reflect what’s possible when women-led innovation is supported. 👇 Since launching in 2016, the Innovate UK Women in Innovation Awards has invested £11m+ in 203 women innovators - who have gone on to secure over £358m* of additional funding, including: - £272m+ in private investment across 405 fundraising rounds* - £86m+ in grant funding across 507 awards* But the real legacy is what those numbers represent. High-value jobs created. International expansion. Prestigious industry and royal recognition. Major partnerships with organisations like Disney, M&S, Universal, Müller, Warner Music, Sanofi, Waitrose, Royal Engineers and the NHS. These pioneering women have unleashed breakthrough innovations that are transforming lives and industries, including: - Samantha Payne MBE co-founder of Open Bionics: affordable, multi-grip prosthetics that empower people with limb differences to live without limits. - Lia Li founder of Zero Point Motion: ultra-precise motion sensors that operate where GPS fails - from indoors and underground, to dense cities and outer space. - Emma Yates founder of Proteotype Diagnostics: cancer detection that harnesses immune‑responses to spot disease earlier and improve patient outcomes. - Ese Eniwumide co-founder of Happaning: real-time, crowdsourced video platform that transforms live audiences into powerful content creators. - Beren Kayali co-founder of Deploy™: rapidly deployable, inflatable concrete water tanks for disaster relief, defence operations and remote communities. Alongside supporting these incredible founders, the Women in Innovation Awards has built a vibrant community of 11,000+ women business leaders and helped grow the proportion of successful women-led applications across all Innovate UK competitions from 1 in 7 to 1 in 3. Join us in celebrating these trailblazing women innovators. They’re not just building successful businesses. They’re building a better future for the UK. 👉 Explore stories from our Innovate UK Women in Innovation alumni by clicking our hashtag #IWD26WII 👉 Join the Women in Innovation community: https://lnkd.in/gh4SD-m #IWD2026 #WomenInnovate #WomenInBusiness #Innovation #Leadership #Entrepreneurship #StartupSuccess *Beauhurst data