Are you an innovative start-up or SME? The European Innovation Council may be the program for you!

European Innovation Council

The European Innovation Council (EIC) represents a fantastic opportunity for innovative SMEs, start-ups or research spin-offs working to develop high-risk and path-breaking innovations at different stages of development. The EIC is also a great resource for women innovators because of its commitment to address gender imbalances in the entrepreneurial world. The EIC Accelerator program, for example, aims to have 40% of the companies invited to the interview stage to be lead by women.

Part of the Innovative Europe component of Horizon Europe, the European Innovation Council was successfully piloted in 2018. Some of the projects supported by this early iteration of the programme include: FLIPT – How to replace plastic with the creation of sustainable and resistant fibre (EU contribution: € 3.741.870), Neurotwin – Technological breakthrough improving the lives of people suffering with epilepsy (EU contribution: € 17.5 million), and VIROFIGHT – How nanotechnology fights viruses (EU contribution: €3.880.940).

In the 2021-2027 financial framework, the EIC becomes the European Union’s most important programme for innovation in the private sector, bringing together funding instruments previously aimed at SMEs, such as the FET programme (Future & Emerging Technology) and the SME Instrument. The European Innovation Council’s budget for the 2021-2027 period is 10.1 billion euros.

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