All EIC supported projects and companies get access to coaching, mentoring, partnering and other EIC Business Acceleration Services

    https://eic.ec.europa.eu/eic-funding-opportunities/business-acceleration-services_en

     

    Under Horizon Europe, the EIC support goes far beyond funding and it aims at accelerating EIC innovations and growth of top deep tech companies. Access to a range of tailor-made EIC Business Acceleration Services will be provided to those who requires it.

    These services are available through the EIC Community platform, or provided through the EIC Fund or partner organizations.

    Once logged in the platform, you will ave free access: as you’ll se, the Community brings together all the people that interact around the EIC. For the moment it’s open for EIC pilot-funded innovators, entrepreneurs, researchers and small companies under Fast Track to Innovation, EIC Pathfinder, EIC Accelerator and investors, and will soon  include EIC Prizes, Coaches, Corporates, Evaluation Jury Members, Key Account Managers and Project Officers.

     

    The EIC is structured around three main pillars:

    • access to coaches, mentors, expertise and training
    • access to global partners (leading corporates, investors, procurers, distributors, clients)
    • access to innovation ecosystem as well as peers

     

    Access to coaches, mentors, expertise and training

    EIC researchers, innovators as well as entrepreneurs will be able to benefit from tailor-made coaching, mentoring, expertise and training delivered by specialized providers and adapted to their innovation stage.

    The EIC business coaching is available for various target groups and will be tailor made to deliver the desired outcome for each of them:

    • For Accelerator applicants (2nd stage) and Seal-of-Excellence teams, the objective is to improve the value proposition, business plan and investor pitch.
    • For Pathfinder researchers the objective is to discover innovation opportunities and to provide insight in the entrepreneurship potential.
    • For Transition teams the objective is to analyze the industry and to create a value proposition.
    • For Accelerator start-ups and scale-ups, the objective is to improve the business plan, the strategy implementation and a faster market entry.
    • In the Women Leadership Program (WLP), we offer additional WLP coaching to help leaders tackle potential glass ceiling issues.

    Learn more on the Coaching under the EIC

     

    How to become a coach

    As part of the proactive portfolio management by Programme Managers, access to specific expertise, trainings, incubation or acceleration are provided to meet individual needs of the EIC funded projects as well as companies and their innovations.

    Such services provided by professional service providers as well as ecosystem partners could include:

    • expertise in the area of Intellectual Property protection
    • legal & financial advisory
    • General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
    • certification and standardisation,
    • competition analysis
    • assistance in negotiations

    Access will be provided to relevant entrepreneurial and innovation/IP strategy trainings, prototyping workshops, business plan development oriented summer schools, boot camps, incubators as well as accelerators.

    Female members of EIC-funded projects, from researchers to entrepreneurs, wishing to bring their research to market, advance their business skills and/or take over leadership positions in business development, can join the EIC Women Leadership Programme (EIC WPL) to strengthen their entrepreneurial skills as well as expand their network. Each participant will work with a personal mentor and a business coach, consequently facilitating the reflection on her career path and new business opportunities.

    In addition to the coaching & training and access to corporates, investors and procurers, EIC-supported researchers, innovators and/or entrepreneurs can join the the EIC Greenhouse Gas (EIC GHG) programme to help reduce their carbon footprint.

     

    Access to global partners (leading corporates, investors, procurers)

    The Business Acceleration Services facilitate cooperation as well as co-creation with international business partners: leading corporates, investors, procurers, etc.

    This includes

    • exploration of commercialisation potential with industry
    • dedicated and impact focused matchmaking events (e.g. Corporate Days, Procurers Days)
    • structured pilot & trials collaborations with corporates and private and public innovation procurers.

    EIC supported SMEs will be offered a specific support when expanding to new markets within Europe and abroad in form of participation to global business trade fairs, visiting major European innovation hubs and specific soft-landing programmes.

    The EIC Overseas Trade Fairs 2.0 Programme (OTF) supports EIC beneficiaries to promote their commercialisation strategy in foreign markets and leverage business opportunities at the most popular trade fairs, strengthening the EU innovation brand around the world. Selected EIC-funded SMEs, startups and scale-ups from EU Member States and associated countries will have access to the programme.

    (Learn more about the 2nd edition of the Overseas Trade Fairs Programme.)

    All above services are open to all EIC funded projects and companies and other members of the EIC Community based on an application and, when relevant, selection process for each event or service. The overall process involves a publication about the service on the EIC Community, an application by an interested EIC company or project and depending on the type of service, a pre-selection by business partners/experts can be applied.

     

    Access to innovation ecosystem and peers

    The EIC ambition is to engage partners from across the European innovation ecosystem within the EIC Community, to benefit from cross-fertilisation and diversity inspiring innovation as well as creativity. It aims to stimulate unprecedented and unforeseeable encounters between peer inventors, researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs as well as other actors from the ecosystem, including corporates, investors, business angels, mentors and coaches, innovation procurers, innovation agencies, business associations, clusters, accelerators, incubators, technology transfer offices and many more.

     

    Calendar

    An overview of all past events can be found on the EIC Community.

     

    FAQs (from the website)

    What are the benefits? What are the selection criteria?

    The business development coaching is available for various EIC target groups and will be tailor made to deliver the desired outcome:

    • For Accelerator applicants (full application stage) and Seal-of-Excellence teams, your objective may be to improve the value proposition together with investor pitch.
    • For Pathfinder researchers your objective may be to discover innovation opportunities while also provide insight in your entrepreneurship potential.
    • For Transition teams your objective may be to get to know the industry and to create a value proposition.
    • For Accelerator start-ups as well as scale-ups, your objective may be to improve your business plan, the strategy implementation and a faster market entry.
    • In the Women Leadership Programme additional WLP Coaching is offered to help you tackle potential glass ceiling issues.

    For Accelerator applicants and Seal-of-Excellence teams, three overall days of coaching are offered. For all further beneficiaries the starting offer of three coaching days may be extended on the recommendation of project officers and programme managers.

    You will all receive an invitation to select a coach, as soon as you become eligible for the service.

    Business acceleration services cater closely to beneficiary needs as well as tailoring guarantees the best partner match. Consequently, most services require selection based on event-specific criteria. These published criteria processes screen registrants appropriately, hence selection filters applicants best suited. When no criteria exist, events serve attendees sequentially or without limit. Please check out any details in this regard in the event publication (in the EIC Community). Please note as well that even if your grant or EIC funding is contractually finished you are still eligible and invited to apply to the EIC BAS services.

     

    How to enter the EIC Community?

    The EIC Community Platform is an exclusive, virtual business platform, where EIC innovators can connect and leverage potential business partnerships. It gathers all innovative companies and innovators funded under the European Innovation Council covering the EIC Accelerator, EIC Transition, EIC Pathfinder and Women TechEU programs, as well as coaches, national contact points, corporates, investors, procurers, staff of the EIC …and many more.

    If you are…

    • an EIC beneficiary (Accelerator, Pathfinder, Transition, Women TechEU), access a one-stop-shop to:
    • Register to EIC Business Acceleration Services, such as the EIC Corporate Programme, EIC Investor Programme, EIC Procurers Programme, EIC Community Talks & Trainings;
    • Get access to your event group for photos and videos or background information;
    • Create a personal and company profile;
    • Use the powerful search engine to find like minded companies;
    • Explore business opportunities among EIC peers;
    • Get exclusive access to ScaleUp EU, our matching platform with investors;
    • Expand networks with EIC ecosystem partners;
    • Share your experience and get support from peers via horizontal and thematic groups;
    • Co-create ideas and knowledge;
    • Promote interesting other events to the EIC Community;

    In order to have access to these sections, you will be requested to log in using your EU Login username and password. However, if you do not have one, you can create your EU Login here.

     

     

    Funded by the European Innovation Council, your user profile may already have registered automatically. In this case, just log in with EU Login username and password and you are already in!

    • not part of the internal EIC Network yet? Access the public side of the EIC Community Platform and find:
    • The most relevant news, success stories, open calls as well as events promoted by the Business Acceleration Services are available outside the platform;
    • Sharing options: spread the great news with your network: you can do it directly on your digital page.

     

    The EIC Community Platform is an exclusive, virtual business platform, where EIC innovators can connect and leverage potential business partnerships. It gathers all innovative companies and innovators funded under the European Innovation Council covering the EIC Accelerator, EIC Transition, EIC Pathfinder and Women TechEU programs, as well as coaches, national contact points, corporates, investors, procurers, staff of the EIC …and many more.

     

    If you are…

    • an EIC beneficiary (Accelerator, Pathfinder, Transition, Women TechEU), access a one-stop-shop to:
    • Register to EIC Business Acceleration Services, such as the EIC Corporate Programme, EIC Investor Programme, EIC Procurers Programme, EIC Community Talks & Trainings;
    • Get access to your event group for photos together with videos or background information;
    • Create a personal and company profile;
    • Use the powerful search engine to find like minded companies;
    • Explore business opportunities among EIC peers;
    • Get exclusive access to ScaleUp EU, our matching platform with investors;
    • Expand networks with EIC ecosystem partners;
    • Share your experience and get support from peers via horizontal and thematic groups;
    • Co-create ideas and knowledge;
    • Promote interesting other events to the EIC Community.

     

    In order to have access to these sections, you will be requested to log in using your EU Login username and password. However, if you do not have one, you can create your EU Login here. If you are funded by the European Innovation Council, it may be that your user profile has been already automatically registered. In this case, just log in with EU Login username and password and you are already in!

    • not part of the internal EIC Network yet? Access the public side of the EIC Community Platform and find:
    • The most relevant news, success stories, open calls together with events promoted by the Business Acceleration Services are available outside the platform;
    • Sharing options: spread the great news with your network: you can do it directly on your digital page.

     

    What are the costs?

    EIC actively forms Business Acceleration Services as an integral programme part. Services benefit eligible funded projects and companies for free. Seal of Excellence and external European or national initiatives also receive services through specific EIC agreements. However, attendees must provide their own travel and accommodations if events or services require it. For the EIC funded companies and projects, there are possibilities to claim those costs under your current grant, please contact your project officer in this regard.

     

    EIC: Business Acceleration Services

    At AFS, we are passionate about fostering innovation and empowering ambitious minds to flourish. Our mission is to provide best-in-class financial services for traditional and crypto deals, exploit European grants, and use quantitative methods to improve clients’ performance. We aim to help our customers unlock their full business potential.

    Are you looking to fund your next venture or unlock grant opportunities?

    Contact us at [email protected]!