The Innovate UK Women in Innovation Awards is celebrating 50 women leading the charge in groundbreaking industries – from revolutionary peat-free farming solutions, to continuous green electricity, to an AI-powered platform that streamlines allergy management in schools.
Recognising the importance of financial wellbeing, Maji stands out as the only financial wellbeing provider to be named a winner in 2025. Our recognition comes from our pioneering work in addressing financial barriers for women, particularly tackling the gender pension gap. With women retiring with significantly less than men, Maji’s innovative approach helps close this divide through personalised guidance, education, and technology-driven solutions.
This year’s winners, from Edinburgh to Southampton and Cardiff to Belfast, are tackling critical social, environmental and economic challenges, creating a robust pipeline of women-led businesses for future investment. Each will receive a £75,000 grant, personalised business coaching, and access to networking, role modelling and training opportunities.
Megan Worthing-Davies, Co-Founder and COO of Maji Financial Wellbeing, is one of the 50 trailblazing winners of the Innovate UK Women in Innovation Awards 2025. With a background in behavioural and change science, Megan has a proven track record of leading small teams and startups to success. Her expertise in driving meaningful change has been instrumental in shaping Maji’s mission to improve financial wellbeing for all.
Megan Worthing-Davies, Co-Founder and COO, said:
“We tackle financial disparities women face, especially in retirement, with our digital pension planner. The Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award is a big step forward, offering crucial support and recognition. Navigating the male-dominated financial services industry has been tough, but persistence and role models have been vital. This award will help us develop our tool and raise our profile, making a genuine difference to women, their families, and others taking on care roles in society.”
Under Megan’s and Co-Founder and CEO, Sahil Sethi’s leadership, Maji has launched an exciting project aimed at tackling the gender pension gap, enhancing its existing financial wellbeing solution to provide better financial support and resources for women in the UK. This project is part of Maji’s broader vision to provide tailored financial wellbeing tools for employees – helping companies address the pressing financial stress employees face while also enhancing their benefits offering.
“Financial wellbeing is often overlooked in innovation, yet it’s fundamental to people’s futures. At Maji, we are transforming how individuals – particularly women – engage with their financial futures. This award validates the need for smarter, technology-driven solutions to tackle the gender pension gap, and we’re excited to accelerate our impact with Innovate UK’s support,” says Sahil Sethi.
Research highlights significant hurdles for women entrepreneurs, including access to funding, and a lack of networks and visible role models. The Innovate UK Women in Innovation Awards address these issues, enabling women innovators to scale their businesses, whilst making a powerful impact on our economy and society.
Since launching in 2016, the Innovate UK Women in Innovation Awards have invested over £11 million in 200 women innovators and has built a vibrant community of over 10,500 women business leaders.
The awards continue to champion high-potential women business leaders from diverse backgrounds: 36% of the winners are from ethnic minority groups (excluding white minorities); 22% have long term conditions, illnesses or disabilities; and 50% have caring or parental responsibilities.
The award winners, who represent a broad range of high growth industries – from health tech and agriculture to renewable energy and education – also span every nation and region of the UK.
The awards drew 1,452 applications from women business leaders, 52% up on last year. This record-breaking engagement highlights the high demand for innovation support and potential to drive economic growth from women leading businesses in the UK. In total, £3.75 million in government funding is being awarded, with each recipient receiving 50% more than previous years.
Recent data across all Innovate UK competitions shows that 1 in 3 successful grant applications are now led by women, a significant jump from 1 in 7 when Women in Innovation was first launched.
Emily Nott, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Innovate UK, said:
“Innovate UK’s Women in Innovation Awards spotlight the UK’s most groundbreaking women entrepreneurs. This year’s winners have shown incredible leadership and creativity. We’re thrilled to support them in scaling their businesses and inspiring the next wave of women innovators. Their success stories will undoubtedly pave the way for more women to enter and thrive in the world of innovation.”
Previous Women in Innovation Award winners have gone on to achieve remarkable success, including securing multi-million pound investments, expanding their operations, winning prestigious industry and royal awards, entering international markets, and forging high-profile partnerships with organisations such as Google, Disney and the NHS.
Explore all 50 of the remarkable award winners and discover how you could benefit from the programme by searching ‘Innovate UK Women in Innovation’ or visiting: bit.ly/IUKWomenInnovate
To learn more about Maji Financial Wellbeing, visit our website here: maji.io
For further details contact:
Claire Campher:
- Marketing Manager
- claire@maji.io
Megan Worthing-Davies:
- Co-founder and COO
- megan@maji.io
Notes to editors
About Maji Financial Wellbeing
Maji is the financial wellness solution that helps employers build a thriving workforce. By providing personalised 1-1 coaching and intuitive financial tools, Maji helps individuals significantly improve their financial health, leading to significant savings for employers. Our comprehensive platform addresses the root causes of financial stress, enabling employees to make informed decisions and build a secure financial future.
Think Money. Think Maji.
About Innovate UK
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is the UK’s innovation agency. It works to create a better future by inspiring, involving and investing in businesses developing life-changing innovations. Its mission is to help companies to grow through their development and commercialisation of new products, processes and services, supported by an outstanding innovation ecosystem that is agile, inclusive and easy to navigate.
About Innovate UK Women in Innovation
The Innovate UK Women in Innovation Awards launched in 2016, to increase the number of women engaging with Innovate UK and investing in innovation to grow their own businesses.
Research conducted with women innovators revealed that access to funding and finance remains the most significant barrier to success, alongside challenges such as the lack of visible role models and difficulty accessing key networks. Over the past eight years, the Awards have worked to break down these barriers. They have championed women entrepreneurs, driven business growth, and created opportunities for more women and girls to be inspired into innovation.
They have had an incredible impact and kickstarted positive change across the innovation system. Through the Awards, Innovate UK has invested over £11 million in 200 pioneering women innovators and the programme has driven a >100% increase in the number of successful women-led applications across all Innovate UK funding competitions.
This pipeline of high-potential, women-led businesses will be ready to engage with the upcoming Invest in Women Taskforce. This industry-led, government-backed initiative is establishing a £250 million funding pool – one of the world’s largest investment resources for female-led and mixed-gender enterprises.
