The Energy Endeavour Foundation (EEF) launches the EEF Empowerment Fund, an entrepreneurship initiative for women pursuing careers in the built environment.
full steam ahead
- our vision
- our new mission
- a steam engine for female entrepreneurship
- attention women doers
- some sectors for consideration
- our European built environment is a lighthouse
- the EEF Empowerment Fund launches in 2023
- this is a trampoline & here is how
- our purpose
- sign up & stay tuned
our vision
The EEF envisions a world where more women, and more partnerships between women and men, contribute towards the equitable reconfiguration of the built environment. We also support the kind of economic and societal development in which arts and science contribute to each other, an arena where creativity, communication, interpretive and cross-cultural skills are mutually interwoven with the fields of science, technology, engineering, math and management. And a future in which hybrid, women-driven collaborations in entrepreneurial business initiatives are supported and propelled into action. We advocate for this bedrock of intrepid leadership in our socially cohesive, collaborative, and environmentally regenerative communities.
our new mission
The fields of science, technology, engineering, art, math (and management) have more interwoven confluences than we imagine. The integration of creative processes in scientific sectors is producing an ever-burgeoning body of professionals in the built environment. In this context, the EEF is launching an entrepreneurship award for women and women in professional partnerships with men, as they pursue careers in a regenerative built environment. The award will support business initiatives and start-ups in which the arts are integral to the scopes of science, technology, engineering, math, and management. Where the STEAM is integrated into STEM. The award will serve as a trampoline, dot-connector, and platform contributing to creative business innovation in sustainable human habitation.
our steam engine
for female entrepreneurship promotes
- Empowerment for women entrepreneurs or entrepreneurial collaborations between women and men;
- Creative stimulus in science, technology, engineering, math, and management: a platform where science looks to the arts and the arts stimulate science;
- Economic and workforce development for our regenerative built environment;
- Equity for all in our homes, neighbourhoods, cities, communities;
- Enrichment for industry specialists, academic experts, and other sustainability professionals who stimulate the EEF Empowerment Award community
attention women
doers and makers in steam
- Professional initiatives and / or partnerships driven or co-driven by women in their final year of a post-secondary programme in STEAM / or graduates holding a degree in STEAM-related specialisations;
- Candidates pursuing entrepreneurial initiatives with a focus on sustainability and / or resource-responsibility in the built environment;
- Creative critical thinkers and doers, tomorrow’s leaders, proposing an interdisciplinary business initiative
some sectors
for consideration
- food & agriculture
- energy & efficiency
- water & sanitation
- waste & circular metabolisms
- education & training
- information & communications technology
- transportation & mobility
European built environment:
a lighthouse
- Candidates are welcome to apply from cities and regions all over the European Union, including European Economic Area members or candidate members including Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom
- Future cycles are in the works to propel the award worldwide through applications from other nations.
this is a trampoline
and here is how
- The application must include a succinct and viable business plan for an entrepreneurial initiative that has positive impact on how we live in the built environment and regenerates our homes, neighbourhoods, communities, cities. The initiative will launch a product or service in which creativity contributes to science, and / or where science looks to the arts.
- Applications must include legal documentation attesting to the establishment of a (new) business entity, no more than three years in existence.
- Proof of preliminary and initial finance mechanisms and / or auxiliary financial support (in cash or in-kind) must be included.
- Indication of previous engagement in similar activities / achievements / letters of recommendations / CVs must be included.
- Key stakeholders involved in the project must be listed with their contact details.
our purpose
As part of the Energy Endeavour Foundation’s core mandate, we seek to empower young professionals as they embrace the workforce challenges and corresponding solutions for our human habitat. The EEF facilitates international knowledge and technology transfers, focusing on urban sustainability topics. With an eye on youth entrepreneurship, the Energy Endeavour Foundation promotes socio-economic development and solutions to sustainability transitions and, ultimately, real-world wake-up calls.
sign up and stay tuned
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Candidate reviews are done annually, in parallel with communications and announcements. Award ceremonies are in the works to honour upcoming recipients and will provide platforms for networking and mentoring for entrepreneurs in the sectors of the built environment.
If you wish to be kept up to date with news about the empowerment fund, please join our mailing list here: