EU funding for innovators: European Innovation Council (EIC), pilot and future

Workshop description: 

The European Innovation Council (EIC) pilot is a €2.7 billion equity-free EU funding programme for the period 2018-2020 supporting high-flying innovators, start-ups, companies and researchers with bright ideas and the ambition to scale-up internationally.

It offers in a single place:

• Equity-free financing from €50,000 to €3 million per project
• 4 different instruments based on your specific needs
• Business coaching and acceleration services

The EIC pilot supports ideas from any area of technology or business sector, including novel combinations of technologies and business models. Support is available from feasibility to development to scale-up stages through 4 different instruments: Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) Open, Fast Track to Innovation (FTI), SME instrument and EIC Horizon Prizes.

• FET Open uses interdisciplinary collaboration to tap into Europe's excellent science base for exploring radically new technologies, which may become the game-changers of the future.
• FTI targets industry-driven consortia seeking a quick market uptake of new solutions, and brings together actors with complementary backgrounds, knowledge and skills.
• SME Instrument addresses start-ups and small companies with a radically new idea for rolling out marketable innovation solutions and with ambitions to scale up.
• And EIC Horizon Prizes boost breakthrough innovation by fostering solutions to challenges which bring major benefits to society.

The programme is open to all innovators from EU Member States, from other countries associated to the EU Horizon 2020 programme, and from all parts of the world who establish their activities in Europe.

What you will learn: You will learn the details of this EU innovation funding programme:

• What are the different instruments offering
• Who are we looking for
• How to apply

Experience required:  No experience is required. This workshop is aimed at start-up founders, entrepreneurs, researchers, business accelerators/incubators, and investors interested in EU funding opportunities.