SynergistEIC: Boosting Synergies between EIC and Startup Europe

ended

The EU takes significant measures to nurture European startups and scaleups in their growth, especially via the European Innovation Council. One its most impactful instruments, the EIC Accelerator, provides substantial financial support for SMEs, startups, spin-outs and in some cases small mid-caps. Despite the high-quality applications, the success rate is still low with only a minor fraction of applicants receiving funding. In reality, many more startups need support in creating a high-impact innovative product, service or business model. Even applicants who obtain a Seal of Excellence from the EIC Accelerator struggle to secure appropriate alternative funding from other sources. High quality support should be available to many more companies than those selected by the EIC Accelerator. SynergistEIC project is conceptualized by four partners with experience in advising technology startups and running FSTP measures. The project’s long term strategic objective is to help European digital and deep tech startups scale in the EU and globally, contributing towards EU’s autonomy in strategic sectors. This will be achieved by providing tailored, specific and hands-on support to European impact-driven startups, notably in the sector of climate-tech, green-tech, circular economy and agri-food to increase their competitiveness and readiness to succeed in EIC Accelerator. SynergistEIC project will identify and select 30 digital and deep tech startups (10 startups that are Seal of Excellence holders or those who passed Step 1 of EIC Accelerator application, and 20 non-EIC applicants), especially from Widening countries, through two waves of open calls. The team will award them with sub-grants, tailored advisory and acceleration services. It will also raise their awareness of EU funding and procurement opportunities, and will connect them with investors, and national and European innovation ecosystem actors, to boost their scalability and business performance.