Startups & SMEs
FOAG has a wide expertise in helping innovative start-ups to access public funding. Startups usually face very challenging conditions, having to address multiple and varied issues simultaneously in a fast-changing environment with a limited workforce.
FOAG consultants are able to put themselves in your shoes to provide you with the focus and to convert your innovative ideas into fresh funding for your projects. Our technical specialisation together with our orientation to business development make FOAG your ideal partner for supporting your company in the early stages of growth.
There is good news: startups enjoy a very favourable specific funding environment within the Horizon Europe programme.
For example, the EIT Transition provides of up to EUR 2.5 million grants to validate and demonstrate technology in application-relevant environment (TRL 4 to 5/6) and develop market readiness. The EIC Accelerator supports small and medium-sized enterprises which have a radically new idea underpinned by a business plan for rolling out marketable innovation solutions and with ambitions to scale up to fully develop their business innovations (TRL5/6 to TRL9).
We provide a very brief summary of a couple of relevant programmes for startups and SMEs:
The main characteristics of the EIC Transition are:
• Aim: validate and demonstrate technology in application-relevant environment (TRL 4 to 5/6) and develop market readiness of novel disruptive technologies developed by single applicants or small consortia (two partners) or consortia of three to five different independent legal entities established in at least three different eligible countries.
• Beneficiaries: SMEs, spin-offs, start-ups, research organisations and/or universities from EU-27 or associated (Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Moldova, North Macedonia, Canada, Iceland, Israel, Montenegro, Serbia, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom) countries.
• Maturity: from TRL4 to TRL5.
• Funding: up to € 2.5 million.
• Duration: 12 to 36 months.
• Next cut-offs: to be announced
The main characteristics of the EIC Accelerator Pilot are:
• Aim: funding innovation projects underpinned by a sound and strategic business plan. Activities funded can be of several types: prototyping, miniaturisation, scaling-up, design, performance verification, testing, demonstration, development of pilot lines, validation for market replication, including other activities aimed at bringing innovation to investment readiness and maturity for market take-up.
• Company: SME from a EU-27 or associated (EU-27 + Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Moldova, North Macedonia, Canada, Iceland, Israel, Montenegro, Serbia, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom) country.
• Maturity: an initial Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 5 or above is envisaged. TRL8 is expected at the end of the project in grant-only projects, while projects with blended finance can reach TRL9.
- Grant-only (activities up to TRL8). Projects will receive between € 0.5 and € 2.5 million (70% funding rate) but a higher or lower amount can be requested, duly justified, when applying.
- Grant-first: Grant-only with the possibility to transition to blended finance (or not).
- Blended finance (activities up to TRL9). The grant component is limited to €2.5 million combined with an equity component of up to €15 million. A higher or lower amount can be requested, duly justified, when applying.• Duration: projects should normally take 12 to 24 months to complete, but could be longer in exceptional and well-justified cases.
• Next cut-offs: to be announced.
Cascade Funding programmes are becoming increaslingly targeted by startups and SMEs from Member states and Associated Countries:
- Success rate around 20% (largely above infimum EIC Accelerator success rate).
- Grants from 50 K€ to 150 K€.
- Streamlined (fast) evalution process.
- Bottom-up or vertical-oriented calls.
- Added value: internationalisation, fostering relationships with the value chain of reference (including big/anchor companies, etc).
We are pioneers in applying for this type of calls. Would you want to try us?
Eurostars supports international innovative projects led by research and development- performing small- and medium-sized enterprises (R&D-performing SMEs).
Its main characteristics are:
Aim: Eurostars supports the development of rapidly marketable innovative products, processes and services that help improve the daily lives of people around the world.
Beneficiaries: the project leader is an R&D-performing SME from a Eurostars country (EU-28 + Canada, Iceland, Israel, Norway, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey), leading a consortium comprised of at least two legal entities (SMEs – Small and Medium companies, LEs – large companies and/or RTOs – Research and Technology Organisations) that are independent of one another from at least two different Eurostars countries.
Budget breakdown: the budget (excluding subcontracting) of the R&D-performing SME(s) is equal to at least 50% of the total project budget. No single entity is responsible for more than 75 % of the project budget. No involved country hosts more than 75 % of the project budget.
Maturity: an initial Technology Readiness Level (TRL) around 5 or above is envisaged. TRL5 is expected at the end of the project.
Funding: around 50% funding rate (depending on countries and on type of entities). Requested EU contribution not more than 3€ million.
Duration: no more than 3 years.
Market introduction: within 2 years of the project’s completion.
Next calls: published on Eurostars calls webpage (usually two per year, one with deadline in March and the second one with deadline in September).
Should you want more information please contact us.
If you are interested in either European or national startup support programmes please contact us.