EIC Business Acceleration Services

Beneficiaries funded by EIC Programs, organizations with the "Seal of Excellence" Quality label, organizations that have passed the short application stage of the Accelerator Program, and organizations that have received grants from the Women TechEU program, briefly referred to as EIC Beneficiaries, can access EIC Business Acceleration Services (BAS).

These services include business development coaching, one-on-one advisory services in these areas, networking opportunities to expand customer bases and find co-investors, access to testing/scaling facilities, access to incubation and acceleration programs.

Starting from 2023, EIC BAS services have been expanded through calls opened by "EIC Ecosystem Partners."

The services provided by EIC Ecosystem Partners and all other EIC BAS services are listed on the EIC Community Platform and can be accessed through this platform. This platform serves as a virtual meeting place where EIC Beneficiaries can connect and collaborate with each other and ecosystem stakeholders (innovators, entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, companies, and suppliers).

The EIC Community platform is planned to be connected to the Innospace Platform, established to share findings and results generated by EIC projects with potential partners, investors, and entrepreneurs.

Starting from 2023, EIC BAS services have been expanded through calls opened by "EIC Ecosystem Partners."

1. Access to Services from EIC Ecosystem Partners and Co-Investment Support
EIC Ecosystem Partners are seeking stakeholders to join. The goal is to provide access to EIC BAS services (pitching training, networking events, intellectual property protection, technology readiness assessment, etc.), including special training in these areas, technology verification/acceleration support, mentorship, business coaching, co-investment opportunities, data mining, or mapping services, for the establishment, incubation, acceleration, growth, and scaling of innovative technology companies for all EIC beneficiaries.
This initiative will be implemented through the following two different calls:

a. Partnerships with Ecosystem Partners and co-investment support services
This action will finance:
• Selection of EIC Ecosystem Partners
• Development of services provided by EIC Ecosystem Partners
• Establishment and maintenance of the EIC Services Catalog for EIC Beneficiaries;
• Organization of joint networking events, including pitching and training sessions;
• Matching EIC Award Beneficiaries with the right service provided by EIC Partners
• An IT intermediary to oversee these services
Additionally, this call will focus on developing investment services for EIC beneficiary companies in conjunction with the EIC Fund.
Regular closing dates for open calls for organizations to become EIC Ecosystem Partners will be published on the EIC website.
Similarly, regular cut-off dates for open calls for organizations to become EIC Ecosystem Partners will also be published on the EIC website.
Action Type: Public Procurement
Call Budget: 4 million euros
Call Schedule: Starting from the 4th quarter of 2023

b. Financial Support to access services from Ecosystem Partners
EIC Beneficiaries may need additional funding to access markets, develop businesses, participate in necessary innovation networks, and strengthen R&D and innovation infrastructure. In this context, EIC has launched a financial support call to ensure the best delivery of comprehensive services provided by EIC Ecosystem Partners under EIC BAS. Legal entities meeting the criteria set out in the EIC Work Programme can apply to this call. The scope of the call is to provide lump-sum financial support to cover 50% of the cost of any service obtained from an EIC Ecosystem Partner by an EIC Beneficiary. Under this action, a maximum cumulative support amount of 60,000 euros will be granted to an EIC Beneficiary. This call will be continuously open for EIC Beneficiaries to efficiently utilize EIC BAS services.

In this call, the selected institutions can provide financial support to the following EIC Beneficiaries:
• Project owners who received grants under the EIC Pilot in the period 2018-2020 and those who received the Seal of Excellence in the EIC Accelerator (also known as SME Instrument Phase 2) program during the same years
• EIC Beneficiaries eligible for funding from the EIC Guide, Transition, and Accelerator programs
Funding Rate: 100%
At least 75% (3.4 million euros) of the project budget will be provided as financial support to EIC Beneficiaries.
Action Type: Coordination and Support Action (CSA)
Expected Number of Supported Projects: 1
Call Opening: August 16, 2023
Application Deadline: November 14, 2023
Call Budget: 4.5 million euros. The funding rate for the grant is 100% of eligible costs.

2. Access to EIC business coaches (direct EIC services)
All EIC Award Beneficiaries are offered a three-day remote coaching service by the European Commission. The Commission collects applications from eligible coach candidates at any time during the year through an expression of interest, and new coaches are selected at the beginning of each year. The coaching process and criteria can be found in detail here. The coaching period is carried out through a contract between the individual and the European Commission.

3. Participation in Business Trade Fairs
This activity aims to support funded EIC companies in their commercialization strategies in European and global markets, and to strengthen the EU's innovation brand worldwide. The successful contractor will provide services such as providing exhibition space within the 'EIC Pavilion,' organizing market education sessions for participating companies, arranging business meetings during the fair, promoting companies, and organizing side events and sessions during the fair.
Activity Type: Public Procurement
Call Budget: 7 million euros
Call Opening: Starting from the 1st quarter of 2023

4. EIC Corporate Partnership Program
The aim of this activity is to establish business relationships between EIC Beneficiary startups and SMEs and large companies. The successful contractor will support the organization of matching/presentation events ("EIC Corporate Days") for these companies.
Activity Type: Public Procurement
Call Budget: 2.5 million euros
Call Opening: Starting from the 1st quarter of 2023

5. EIC Community Platform and Events
The purpose of this activity is to provide, maintain, and enhance the content, functionality, and services of the EIC Community and online platform.

Activity Type: Public Procurement
Call Budget: 2 million euros
Call Opening: Starting from the 1st quarter of 2023

6. Support to test EIC innovations for public and private procurers
One of the main barriers to commercializing innovative solutions developed by innovative SMEs is finding initial customers. The public sector buyers, which have significant purchasing power, can increase the adoption of innovations in Europe by acting as early adopters, thus renewing their services by purchasing innovative solutions.
To increase the use of innovation supply in Europe, this action aims to support the pilot testing or concept proof stage of EIC-supported innovations for potential public and private buyer customers. Applications can be submitted as individual or consortium proposals. The project beneficiary will launch a call to test innovative solutions developed by EIC Beneficiaries to achieve innovation with buyers looking to test these solutions in their services or facilities. EIC Beneficiaries receiving a grant of up to 60,000 euros from this call can thus introduce their developed solution to their first buyer.
Activity Type: Coordination and Support Action (CSA)
Call Budget: 3 million euros
Call Opening: June 1, 2023
Call Closure: November 7, 2023

EIC Business Acceleration Services

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