From the 6 June 2019 innovative companies can apply for a grant of up to 17.5 million in combined grant and equity financing to scale-up quickly and effectively.
The grants available will be between € 0.5 and 2.5 million and equity investment can amount up to €15 million. The aim is to increase support for ground-breaking concepts that could shape new markets or disrupt existing ones in Europe and worldwide.
The novelties:
- Blended finance
The EIC Accelerator (SME Instrument) is designed for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMES) with radically new ideas underpinned by a business plan for rolling out marketable innovation solutions and with ambitions to scale up.
- Mono beneficiary only
It targets single for-profit SMEs only – this means that single companies only (including young companies and start-ups) can apply (as opposed to project consortia). There are no set topics, so companies from all sectors can apply.
- Different options
Grants will finance activities from TRL 6-8. Activities above TRL 8 will financed only through blended finance. Applicants will be asked to indicate if they want blended finance and the amount requested for equity. The maximum is € 15 million for equity investment.
The call for proposal is already available online