IFC Women-Led Grant $750K--EV Battery Recycling €5M--Lowe's Creator

Hello startup people! Here’s the latest drop on Grants, Pitch Competitions, Awards, and Summits.

This week’s tip: For CPG founders seeking retail shelf space, think about your product from the standpoint of a Category Manager. What will make them choose YOUR product to put on shelves? How can you instill confidence in your product and distribution, so they in turn feel confident adding you to the lineup?

~Diane

💪 The Biggies

IFC Women-Led Business Grant | $750K

This program targets businesses founded or led by women, providing non-dilutive funding alongside leadership coaching and a global peer network. Supports growth across all sectors.

EU-India on Recycling of EV Batteries | €5M

Projects are expected to build a jointly operated recycling pilot line on Indian soil demonstrating innovative recycling processes for lithium-ion batteries going beyond the current state of the art in terms of recycling efficiency.

Lowe’s Creator: Into the Blue

This program helps creators monetize their content and grow their influence and is designed to help transform product ideas into retail opportunities with Lowe’s support.

Are you in an accelerator? Forward to your cohort peers, or connect me with your Managing Director. I’ll post the top opportunities in your community for free.

Newly Added:

🎤 Pitch Competitions

AWIEF Pitch n Grow – Cash prize TBD
Africa; Women-led | July 20 | Apply

Women’s Health Horizons Founder Pitch Competition – Pitch at WHH Conference; Investor connections
Women-led; HeathTech; Pharma | July 31 | Apply

Harrison The Tank Entrepreneurs Contest – $40,000 total prizes
West Virginia; All businesses | Aug 31 | Apply

WE AT Challenge 2026 – JPY 30 Million
Social impact; Well-being | Aug 31 | Apply

💰 Grants

IFC Women-Led Business Grant – up to $750K
Women-led; Impact-focused; ESG | Aug 20 | Apply

EU-India Recycling of EV Batteries – €5,000,000
EU; India; EV’s; Batteries | Sept 15 | Apply

💼 Events

IFT FIRST - Chicago – 1,000+ exhibitors
Food tech; Food science | July 12-15 | Apply

MoneyLIVE North America - Chicago – 900+ attendees
Banking; Payments | Sept 14-15 | Apply

G2E Global Gaming Expo - Las Vegas – 25,000+ attendees
Gaming; Hospitality; iGaming | Sept 30-Oct 1 | Apply

🔨 Challenges

RELX Environmental Challenge 2026 – $150,000 total pool
Clean Water; Ocean Health | July 12 | Apply

Energy Tech Challengers Asia – Pitch at Energy Tech Summit Asia
APAC; Energy; Climate tech | July 13 | Apply

WABF33 New Venture Competition – $30,000
Africa; All startups | Aug 1 | Apply

San Angelo Business Plan Competition – $100,000 total pool
Texas; All businesses | Aug 5 | Apply

ISA Green Hydrogen and Storage Startup Challenge – Investor connections; path to pilots
Sustainable storage; Net zero; Energy | Aug 9 | Apply

TBAT Innovation Challenge – £50,000 cash + £95,000 services
UK; All businesses | Aug 12 | Apply

iF Social Impact Prize – €100,000 total pool
UNSDG’s | Aug 19 | Apply

Innovandi Open Challenge 2026 – Access to labs
AI for low-carbon cement; Net zero | Aug 20 | Apply

BPD Start-Up Challenge – Present at BPD 2026
Batteries | Aug 31 | Apply

Lowe’s Creator: Into the Blue – Co-develop with Lowe’s
Home products | Sept 1 | Apply

PowerUp NetZero Open Call – €120,000
Europe; Net zero; Carbon Capture; Batteries | Sept 15 | Apply

Extreme Tech Challenge AI:360 Global Startup Competition – Present at AI:360 Summit
AI; Energy; Chips; Applied AI | July 30 | Apply

🏆 Awards

NSIA Prize for Innovation – $275,000 prize pool
Nigeria; Impact-focused; Healthcare; Climate | July 31 (my guess) | Apply

Groupama Immobilier House of AI – Membership to House of AI
AI for business | Sept 28 | Apply

Climate Resilience Awards for Business 2026 – Recognition
Climate Tech; AgTech | Sept 30 | Apply

Closing Soon! Last Chance!

🤩 View the full list of 100+ open opportunities - including all Last Chance Opportunities - by signing up here.

IBM Sports Tech Startup Challenge – $100,000 Proof of Concept
Sports Tech | Jun 30 (my guess) | Apply

Santander X Global Challenge – €120,000 total pool
Quantum; AI | Jun 30 | Apply

T9 Pitchfest – Purchase order from Title Nine
Women-led; Products; Outdoor industry; Athletics | July 1 | Apply

Beyond the Deal Room curates grants, pitch competitions, awards, and tech summits for 13,000+ founders, VC’s and startup organizations. Over $100M global opportunities, mostly non-dilutive, are available across all verticals each year.

For Startup Organizations: Bring this list to your newsletter and community groups for FREE. Reply to this email for details.

Disclaimer: I receive no compensation for promoting any of these events. While I try to be as accurate as possible when posting requirements such as deadlines, it’s your responsibility to confirm all requirements.

📣 Who am I? Your biggest cheerleader. Startup operator, accelerator operations leader, and advisor to early-stage founders. Named a Top 100 Women Tech Leader (2024). I help founders tap into non-dilutive funding—grants, competitions, and beyond—to build traction between VC rounds. Connect with me on LinkedIn.