Barclays Eagle Labs Female Founder Accelerator 2025

Applications are now open for the Barclays Eagle Labs Female Founder Accelerator, powered by AccelerateHER. The programme is designed to support 100 innovative, female-led technology businesses through a nine-week series of expert-led masterclasses beginning in September 2025. These sessions are focused on helping participants develop and scale their business propositions, while providing mentoring and a powerful support network.

The accelerator is open to female founders and C-suite leaders who:

• Are based in the UK
• Can commit to attending all masterclasses over the nine-week period
• Are building a business that uses digital, technology, or innovation
• Are ready to scale and have launched (or are close to launching) their MVP

The programme is designed to bring more women into entrepreneurship and support them on their entrepreneurial journey. Our definition of “woman” is the broadest possible and includes any female-identifying, non-binary, and genderqueer founders.

The accelerator is designed for ventures beyond the ‘idea’ stage. This means:

• You’ve created or are close to creating your minimal viable product (MVP)
• You’re ready to bring your product to market or have already
• You have ambitions to scale and raise investment in the next 12 to 18 months
• You operate within key technology and innovation sectors.

While the programme will cover elements of the investment process, it’s not aimed at businesses who are immediately ready for investment.

Key Dates:

• Applications open: Monday 16 June 2025
• Applications close: Monday 14 July 2025
• Programme begins: Friday 12 September 2025

There are nine components to the programme – an introductory session, a midpoint Q&A session, and seven expert-led masterclasses. The programme also includes opportunities to access the following:

• One-to-one mentoring from a business angel or experienced founder
• Peer-to-peer support groups
• Access to the Barclays Eagle Labs and AccelerateHER ecosystem
• Community networking events

You may also be selected to showcase your business at the end of the programme to an audience of potential investors, clients, and industry professionals. The Female Founder Showcase takes place in London at the end of the programme, on 25 March. It aims to bring the cohort together for a day of networking and live showcases. All founders can attend, with selected founders given the opportunity to showcase their business with a live demo.