Get It Made has unveiled its 2024 grant initiative, aimed at fostering the next wave of female talent within the UK engineering sector by advancing female-led organisations.
In celebration of International Women’s Day, this initiative seeks to bolster projects spearheaded by women in engineering, design, technology, and manufacturing fields, including those in startup phases. The winning enterprise will gain access to Get It Made’s manufacturing prowess, aiding in the expansion of production capabilities, and driving business growth.
Initially introduced in 2022, this yearly programme is set to once again draw a wide array of applicants from across the UK, demonstrating its commitment to nurturing female entrepreneurship in fields traditionally dominated by men.
The application window is currently open and will close on 31st July. Eligible engineering enterprises with fewer than 10 employees can apply for the grant, which is valued at £5,000.
2023 grant winner Stiliyana Minkovska, Founder and CEO of gynae health startup Matrix, said: “Grants like this are so important on many levels, not least to address the bigger picture, to give a much-needed platform and voice for FemTech innovators. They allow women to build for women, so products like Matrix can get to the prototyping phase, thus enhancing the opportunity for gaining further visibility and bringing it a step closer to reality.
“The grant has enabled us to produce various prototypes to potentially distribute to multiple potential early adopters and users – specialist practitioners from OBGYNs to nurses and GPs. Our project has the potential to not only save lives and improve outcomes for patients, but also empower females and help reduce health inequalities in women around the world. The support from Get It Made has helped us propel our business forward and take our goal one step closer, something which may not have been possible or might have been even more difficult to achieve otherwise.”
Luke Smoothy, Founder of Get It Made, commented: “Through offering our state-of-the-art manufacturing services, we’re committed in supporting female-driven innovation through ground-breaking projects which have the potential to improve efficiencies and even save lives. We’ve taken a practical step to align with this year’s IWD theme, Inspire Inclusion; as a sector where women are still underrepresented, manufacturing is just one of many industries which needs to take further action and be more actively engaged in driving gender parity and raising awareness about discrimination.”
