The EIC Accelerator provides substantial financial support with:
- grant funding (non-dilutive) of up to €2.5 million for innovation development costs,
- investments (direct equity investments) of up to €15 million managed by the EIC Fund for scale up and other relevant costs.
EIC Accelerator open funding is for breakthrough innovations in any field of technology and application.
EIC Accelerator challenge funding targets breakthrough innovations with major impacts on:
- Strategic Digital and Health technologies.
- Green Deal innovations for the economic recovery.
The cut-off date for 2021 (for both Accelerator Open and Accelerator challenges) is:
How do you know if your idea is appropriate for EIC Accelerator call?
You know that by analyzing target markets areas, demands on markets, other companies, research stages, etc. with the purpose of comparing your idea to existing solutions from your research field. The idea needs to be deep-tech and game-changing. Finding these aspects is actually your homework that needs to be done before applying to accelerator but we are here to help you decide.
What about the broader impact of your idea/project, when applying for EIC Accelerator?
The most important question is: »What will the broader societal, economic, environmental or climate impacts be if your innovation is successfully commercialized? « If there will be no impact, then you need to find another appropriate call for funding. If your impacts are major and realistic and could be achieved, then your idea is maybe ready for EIC Accelerator funding.
Did you know that video of obligatory for the short and first step of EIC Accelerator submission?
Pitch video can create an important impression on experts and it is a great tool to present your idea in general with all aspects and of course, to present your fantastic team. Your creativity freedom is endless, the only restriction is video length, which is up to 3 minutes.
Who are EU experts/evaluators and why EU needs them?
They are experts from many specific research areas and their expertise and knowledge are the main criteria for evaluating specific proposals. They are searching for ideas with benefits for the EU as a society, for the EU in general, for cleaner nature, health, for better wellbeing, etc. Although technology can find keywords in proposals, human interaction is irreplaceable and will be important also in our future. Experts are allowed and encouraged to give suggestions and comments – their evaluations are transparent.
Does your company have a female CEO and you are thinking of applying for EIC Accelerator funding?
Did you know, that according to the European Commission women represent 52 percentages of the total European population but only 34.4 % of the EU women population are self-employed and 30 % are CEO of start-up entities, which means that 'female creativity and jobs should be further developed. To tackle this issue, the EU particularly welcomes applications from startups and SMEs with female CEOs.