Introduction
In 2022, €1+ billion in grant and equity funding was made available to SMEs and small midcaps via the European Innovation Council (EIC) – the European Commission’s flagship innovation funding programme for the period 2021-2027.
The EIC Accelerator programme helps high-risk, innovative SMEs and start-ups willing to develop and commercialise new products, business models, and services. These developments could potentially drive economic growth and influence new markets or disrupt existing European or global markets.
The EIC Accelerator can provide grant funding (non-dilutive) of up to €2.5 million for innovation development costs, and investments (direct equity) from €500k up to €15 million via the dedicated EIC Fund.
Total Number of Winners by Funding Type and Cut-off
Since the introduction of the EIC Accelerator Programme under Horizon Europe, 313 companies have been selected to receive grant and/or equity funding. There were 75 selected companies in the recent June cut-off. Blended finance has been the most popular form of support requested by successful applicants.
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Source: Data published by the EIC during 2021-2022
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Source: Data published by the EIC during 2021-2022
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Grant Funding
Since the first cut-off date in 2021, a total of 131 companies have been selected to receive grant-first or grant-only finance.
Total Number of Grant Winners per Cut-off
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Source: Data published by the EIC during 2021-2022
Total Number of Grant Winners by Region
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Source: Data published by the EIC during 2021-2022
Blended Funding
Since the first cut-off date in 2021, a total of 182 companies have been selected to receive blended finance or equity-only finance.
Total Number of Blended Finance Winners per Cut-off
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Source: Data published by the EIC during 2021-2022
Total Number of Blended Finance Winners by Region
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Source: Data published by the EIC during 2021-2022
Amount of Blended Finance Won in Each EU Region
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Source: Data published by the EIC during 2021-2022
Blended Finance Winners by Country
Since the launch of the EIC Accelerator under Horizon Europe, the top 3 countries with the most start-ups that have won blended funding have been (1) France, (2) Germany and (3) Spain & The Netherlands. Across the four cut-offs so far, many Israeli and Finnish companies have been successful in securing blended funding too.
Many developing countries have only seen one or two start-ups win blended funding across all four cut-offs. In contrast, countries that have seen at least one start-up receive funding in each of the last four cut-offs include France, Germany, Spain, The Netherlands, Israel, Finland, Sweden and Ireland.
France is leading Europe in terms of the number of start-ups selected for blended funding. France has seen 75% more start-ups win funding than Germany – the nation with the second-highest number of blended-funding recipients. France’s success over its peers seems to widen with each cut-off date.
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Source: Data published by the EIC during 2021-2022
Total Blended Finance
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Source: Data published by the EIC during 2021-2022
Average Blended Finance
Over the previous three cut-offs (June 2021-March 2022), French start-ups have raised a combined €243 million in funding. A record-breaking €123 million in funding was secured by French start-ups during the October 2021 call.
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Source: Data published by the EIC during 2021-2022
Resources & Notes
Resources
The insights and statistics are based on data which was published between 2021-2022 by the EIC. For more information, click here to launch the EIC Fund's webpage.
Notes
Applicants from the United Kingdom can apply to the Accelerator, but can only request and receive funding in the form of a grant.
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