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What is the EIC Pre Accelerator
The EIC Pre Accelerator is a new instrument from the European Innovation Council, funded under the Horizon Europe programme. It has been launched as a pilot with a total budget of around €20 million euro.
The grant targets early stage deep tech companies in widening countries. Its goal is to scale their technology, business and investment readiness so that they can:
- increase their chances of securing EIC Accelerator funding
- become more attractive to private investors
- access other national and regional funding programmes more easily
You can think of the Pre Accelerator as an intermediate step. You are beyond the early research phase, but not yet ready for a major investment round. It is exactly this gap that the European Commission wants to close.
Why this instrument was created
Across Europe the innovation landscape is uneven. Some countries have mature deep tech ecosystems, experienced investors, strong universities and a track record of successful exits. In other countries that broader infrastructure is thinner, even though there is plenty of talent and promising ideas.
The Pre Accelerator therefore focuses specifically on widening countries such as Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia amongst others. The European Commission wants to prevent promising technologies in these countries from stalling, which still happens too often in practice.
Companies in these countries now have access to a dedicated instrument that does not only provide funding, but also offers intensive support, coaching and access to the wider EIC network.
How the EIC Pre Accelerator works
High level
The scheme offers:
- grant funding per project between €300-€500k
- funding of seventy percent of eligible project costs
- a project duration of maximum two years
- access to Business Acceleration Services with coaching, bootcamps and investor events
- an accelerated pathway to the EIC Accelerator and other types of funding
Who can apply
The call is open to one small or medium sized enterprise per project, established in a widening country or certain associated countries, plus the outermost regions of the EU.
Key eligibility criteria include:
- a deep tech innovation with technology at least at TRL 4, validated in the lab
- sufficient intellectual property rights to exploit the innovation
- a credible route to market, with clear milestones and measurable indicators
- a team with a clear vision and the ambition and capabilities to scale
Applications are submitted through the European Commission’s Funding and Tenders portal. The first call closed on November 18.
The first call in numbers
The level of interest in this first round shows how strong the demand is.
- In total one 1056 proposals were submitted
- These came from 30 different countries
- Together the applicants requested more than €497.4 million, with an average of around €454k per proposal
The evaluation of the proposals is expected to run until February. The first results are scheduled to be published in late February and early March. Successful companies will not only receive grant funding, but also direct access to the EIC ecosystem.
What this means if you want to apply next time
For founders in widening countries the message cuts both ways. On the one hand the high level of interest shows that you are not alone in building deep tech innovation with international ambitions. On the other hand it clearly shows that competition is intense. A “decent” proposal will not be enough when your chance of success is only around 4.7%.
The Pre Accelerator is clearly not a grant you stumble into by accident. It is a selection at the gate for the top innovators. The EIC is looking for teams that can realistically obtain significantly more capital within a few years, including from private markets.
Never miss an EU call again
The EIC Pre Accelerator is only the beginning however. Every year hundreds of European and national gratns for innovation and R&D open for applications. With Subsidies.io you automatically discover which grants are a good fit and you stay up to date on new calls as soon as they are published.
Curious which grants you could apply for?
Get started with a free scan on Subsidies.io
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