IncubAlliance and WILLA launch the call for projects for the WILLA Boost For Women In Deep Tech

Promoting the emergence of women entrepreneurs in Deep Tech within the Paris-Saclay cluster: this is the main ambition of WILLA Boost For Women In Deep Tech The call for projects was launched this Monday, October 22nd. Organized by WILLA, France's leading accelerator for gender diversity in innovation, in partnership with IncubAlliance, the shared incubator of Paris-Saclay, this unique program will take place at IncubAlliance's premises. Completely free of charge, it is aimed at female Master's students in applied economics, doctoral candidates, and researchers eager to test their innovative Deep Tech project idea, assess the commercial potential of their technology, and evaluate their ability to embark on an entrepreneurial venture. Calling all aspiring entrepreneurs!

The organization of this program stemmed from an observation: while a company founded by a mixed team shows 63% of additional performance, only 10% of startups were led by women in 2017. This statistic, in addition to being low, varies according to sector, since only 3% of female entrepreneurs are focused on scientific and technical fields.« It is based on this worrying observation that we entered into a partnership with WILLA, a major player in gender diversity in innovation in France. We decided to combine our respective expertise – supporting women's entrepreneurship for WILLA and Deep Tech entrepreneurship for IncubAlliance – to help and guide female students, doctoral candidates, and researchers driven by the desire to launch businesses, and thus accelerate gender diversity within the Paris-Saclay cluster. »" explains Philippe Moreau, CEO of IncubAlliance.

This support will take the form of an intensive three-day workshop. The program for these three days will include a series of workshops, individual coaching sessions, and testimonials from female entrepreneurs on topics as varied as self-confidence, influence, B2B negotiation, team building, the art of pitching, and lean startup culture.« Through these various key moments, we aim to help our participants identify and formalize the problem they aspire to solve and allow them to assess whether they are capable of carrying out their project.», explains Sylvia Garzon, co-director of the WILLA programs. At the end of these three days, which will conclude with presentations of the various projects to expert panels, several candidates will be rewarded. Among the prizes: access to training workshops or several months of WILLA-IncubAlliance co-mentoring.

More than just a program, WILLA and IncubAlliance aim to create a real momentum in support of women's entrepreneurship.« This program is indeed only a first step for us. Depending on the results of this experience, we plan to work with IncubAlliance to expand our initiatives for identifying and supporting women entrepreneurs. »" conclude Sylvia Garzon and Philippe Moreau.

Link to the call for projects platform: https://www.hellowilla.co/programmes/willa-boost-for-women-in-deep-tech/

About WILLA

WILLA, formerly Paris Pionnières, is the leading accelerator for gender diversity in innovation in France. Since its creation in 2005, WILLA has supported more than 460 startups founded or co-founded by women, thanks to a network of 150 mentors and experts, as well as the support of committed public and private partners. WILLA is convinced that more women, and more diversity in general, means more creativity, and therefore more innovation and value creation.

To learn more about WILLA: https://www.hellowilla.co