About

The EIT Food Accelerator Network (EIT FAN) is a four-month programme that aims to fast-track science and technology-based innovations that are helping to solve global food system challenges. The programme is managed by our leading EIT Food partner organisations, operating from different regional hub locations Europe. Each hub connects impactful agrifood startups with industry-leading corporate and research partners, to pilot innovative technology and drive the ultimate goal of every business: a successful market adoption

Eligibility criteria

Your business innovation must be underpinned by a science or technology with a proof of concept, or pilot project execution. It must also fall under one of EIT Food’s key focus areas.

To apply for EIT FAN you must be a registered company established in an EU member state, or Horizon Europe associated countries. Your company must be at a pre-seed stage (you must not have closed a Series A investment round yet), and ideally, it has successfully completed customer validation and is able to demonstrate traction, for example, through letters of support, sales, or signed letters of intent.

Benefits

Funding

The EIT FAN offers funding of up to €10,000 along with the opportunity to access follow-on EIT Food funding and support through EIT Food’s Impact Fund. More information on this fund can be found here.

More information and application HERE.

About

The Seedbed Incubator is a six month programme that aims to transform science and technology based innovations, that can help solve global food system challenges, into market-validated businesses. The programme is delivered by world-class EIT Food partner organisations, operating from different regional hub locations Europe

All entrepreneurial teams and newly-formed startups accepted onto the Seedbed Incubator receive funding and access to our thriving ecosystem to facilitate market testing activities with potential customers or end-users. Each cohort team is supported by business coaches and sector experts to be ready a successful business launch

Eligibility criteria

Your business innovation must be underpinned by a science or technology with a prototype or lab proof of concept established. It must also fall under one of EIT Food’s key focus areas

You can apply for the Seedbed Incubator as a project team or as a registered company. A project team must consist of at least two individuals with complementary skills and experiences, and at least one member must be a citizen or resident of an EU member state, or Horizon Europe associated countries. If you are a solo researcher or an academic currently without any team members, you must still have support from at least one member of your Technology Transfer Office for the duration of the programme (and include these details in your application). If you are applying as a registered company, your company must be established in an EU member state, or Horizon Europe associated countries.

Benefits

Funding

The Seedbed Incubator offers funding of up to €6,000, along with the opportunity to access follow-on EIT Food funding and support through EIT Food’s Impact Fund. More information on this fund can be found here

More information and application HERE.

About

StairwAI, is a European Union-funded project which aims to facilitate the engagement of low-tech companies in the AI4EU platform (a one-stop-shop for anyone looking for Artificial Intelligence (AI) knowledge, technology, tools, services, and experts) and the implementation of AI.

Calling for

StairwAI is looking for low-tech SMEs from any industry to test and validate AI resources to improve their products, services, or value chains focusing on one of the call-specific challenges.

The project considers low-tech SMEs as any company that is: a) AI Unaware: it has heard about AI but is unaware of its applications, or b) AI Aware: it is a savvy consumer of AI solutions capable of identifying use cases for AI applications.  

To do what?

What you will get

Selected companies will make part of a 6-month program and will receive 60.000 Euros, that includes:

• €26k Lump-sum
• €10k Access to hardware providers (vouchers)
• €24k Access to AI talents mentorship (vouchers)

More information and application HERE.

About

The Ideas Powered for business SME Fund is a grant scheme designed to help EU small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) intellectual property (IP) rights. The SME Fund is a European Commission initiative implemented by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and will run from 23 January 2023 to 8 December 2023.

Calling for

The SME Fund offers financial support to SMEs established in the European Union. The application can be filed by an owner, an employee, or an authorised representative of an EU SME acting on its behalf. Grants are always transferred directly to SMEs.

What you will get

The SME fund is a reimbursement programme that issues vouchers that can be used to partly cover the fees for the selected activities. There are two types of vouchers available depending on the activity concerned:

Voucher 1: €630 – to cover the cost of IP pre-diagnostic services (IP Scan)

Voucher 2: €1000 – to use for trade mark & design eligible fees.

More information and application HERE.

About

EUHubs4Data is an Innovation Action project co-funded by the European Union to set up a European federation of Data Driven Innovation Hubs, aimed at establishing as the reference on innovation and experimentation on Big Data, and which will ensure access to SMEs in their respective regional ecosystems to a global catalogue of data sources and federated data driven services.

What are the benefits?

• €60k funding per experiment
• Access to advanced assets on Big Data
• Technical & business coaching and follow-up support by DIHs
• Visibility and promotion
• Exploitation plan
• Digital & Business skills

Maximum funding amount

€60,000

Guidelines for Applicants can be found HERE. 

More information and application HERE.

About

REACH is an incubator funded by the European Commission that will support selected data-fuelled start-ups & SMEs through a 11-month incubation programme facilitating the development of trusted and secure innovative solutions based on industrial and personal data. Our innovation focused ecosystem, services and tools facilitate cross-sector and multi-stakeholder experimentation and data innovation.

What are the benefits?

• Equity free funding of up to €120k
• Access to large corporations and their industrial data sets
• Access to digital and business skills
• Reach toolbox for secure and trusted data value chains
• Big data computing infrastructure
• Access to private investment
• Visibility

Eligibility

The accepted applicants for REACH open calls are start-ups in the form of SMEs, that fit with the proposed participation tracks:

Individual SME experiment: Data Driven SMEs or Startups solving challenges and experiments.

Collaborative SME experiment: Several data driven SMEs will conduct different experiments under a common DVC theme or Data Provider’s challenge. This way of collaboration will be fostered by REACH partners, for example, identifying synergies among applicants along the incubation and facilitating their collaboration. The consortium will aim 20% of the experiments progressing on this collaborative scheme to contribute towards the DVC concept.

• The use of big data tools is needed.
• Uniqueness of the proposal.

Maximum funding amount

€120,000

More information and application HERE.

About

Boosting Widening Digital Innovation Hubs (BOWI) is a project funded by the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Union.  BOWI aims to support Digital Innovation Hubs (DIHs), SMEs, and Midcaps by facilitating the access and uptake of Smart Anything Everywhere (SAE) and ICT for Manufacturing SMEs (I4MS) technologies in underrepresented regions.

BOWI Open Call 3 will distribute up to €2.16 M among 36 SMEs and Mid-caps from the 9 regions described below, to develop their experiments. Additionally, up to €300,000 (€15,000 per experiment) will be made available in the form of a voucher among 20 experiments from particular regions.

What are the benefits? 

• Technical support from local widening hub
• Business mentoring from local widening hub
• Guidelines and support from Mature Hub: from the BOWI partners Mature Hub; from BOWI validated Mature Hubs via vouchers
• Access to specific facilities and infrastructure
• Media exposure

To do what? 

SMEs and Midcaps can be focused both on a product or a manufacturing process. The experiments should address the application of at least one of the following technology areas:

• Low energy computing powering CPS
• Cyber-physical and embedded systems
• Internet of things
• Flexible and Wearable Electronics
• Organic and Large Area Electronics
• Advanced or High-performance computing
• Robotics for manufacturing
• Additive manufacturing technologies
• Modelling and simulation
• Artificial Intelligence
• CPS for manufacturing
• Cloud computing
• Digital twins, data sharing, autonomous factories

Maximum funding amount

€60,000

More information and application HERE

You are advised to contact your local widening hub for further information and support. The hub for Lithuania is Sunrise Valley Digital Innovation Hub.