Now in their seventh year, and previously a Scotland-only event, the awards are set to recognise inspirational female founder success across the whole of the UK, thanks to a new partnership with Barclays Eagle Labs.

The awards celebrate women excelling in their sector and will be split across four regions - Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, North England and South England - with four categories in each region: Science and MedTech; FinTech, Data Science and Cybersecurity; CleanTech, Climate and Net Zero; and Disruptive Innovation. Entries open on the 28th October.

In just six years, the awards have quickly developed a reputation for providing a springboard to growth for finalists and winners by opening doors to new connections and opportunities through the global AccelerateHER and Barclays Eagle Labs networks.

Previous AccelerateHER Award winners have accessed incredible top-level market building missions to California, New York, Boston, Berlin and Dubai – resulting in new investment leads, extensive new business and a much extended network including top industry leaders.

Last year’s winner of the CleanTech, Climate and Net Zero category, Aslihan Penley from Zoex Power, had her business growth plan boosted by her success in last year’s awards.

She said: “AccelerateHER Awards gave me the prestige and credibility that my clean tech start-up was missing. Alongside it, the connections, the mentoring and the whole AccelerateHER family has been fascinating!”

Announcing the partnership, Elizabeth Pirrie, chief operating officer for AccelerateHER, said: “Taking the awards UK-wide is testament to the success of the programme and we’re delighted to have secured the support of Barclays Eagle Labs to help us expand beyond Scotland.

“This is an exciting time for AccelerateHER as we launch the 2022 awards to find the inspirational, dynamic female founders who play a leading role driving strong global growth potential in their companies.”

Katherine Morgan, head of high growth and entrepreneurs at Barclays, added: “We’re excited and honoured to be supporting the AccelerateHER awards. Celebrating and boosting the strength of female entrepreneurship in the UK is close to our hearts at Barclays and we hope that the awards will celebrate female entrepreneurs and inspire the next generation.”

The awards are sponsored by Barclays and global IT and business consulting services firm CGI. The Scottish Government has been instrumental in supporting the awards in Scotland, through its Women in Enterprise Framework and Action Plan; ensuring over 700 female founders to date have accessed tangible expert help to prepare for investment and growth.

Entries open on 28th October with the winners announced in March next year.