Funding opportunities
Discover the different sources of financing for your business
Here you can find a quick overview of the available European funding programmes that support startups. Scroll down to browse the overview tables organised according to the stage of the research-product lifecycle they support and their thematic priorities.
You can also find here a brief description of each programme, funding, target groups and links to official websites, current calls for proposals and contact details of the programme’s representatives in Slovakia, where you can obtain further information.
This overview of EU funding programmes was prepared by Ivan Filus, Innovation & growth advisor, Enterprise Europe Network, Horizon Europe NCP EIC/EIE.
Check out also: InnoNews.blog – inovácie, podnikanie, technológie, výskum
EIC ACCELERATOR (HORIZON EUROPE)
About: funding and investments through the EIC Fund for individual start-ups and small companies to develop and scale up game changing innovations
Funding: grants up to EUR 2.5 million (70% funding), investment up to EUR 15 million
Target group: only tech startups and SMEs (single partner, no consortia)
EIC TRANSITION (HORIZON EUROPE)
About: EIC Transition funds innovation activities that go beyond the experimental proof of principle in laboratory to support both: the maturation and validation of your novel technology in the lab and in relevant application environments, and the development of a business case and (business) model towards the innovation’s future commercialisation.
Funding: Grants of up to EUR 2.5 million
Target group: single applicants (SMEs, spin offs, start ups, research organisations, universities) or small consortia (max 5 partners); applications are restricted to results generated by the following eligible projects: EIC Pathfinder, FET, ERANETs, ERC Proof of Concept , EDF, all projects funded under Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe (EIC Transition Challenges ONLY)
EIC PATHFINDER (HORIZON EUROPE)
About: exploration of bold ideas for radically new technologies, supporting high-risk / high gain and interdisciplinary cutting-edge science collaborations that underpin technological breakthroughs
Funding: grants of up to EUR 3 to 4 million
Target group: visionary scientists and entrepreneurial researchers from universities, research organisations, start-ups, high-tech SMEs or industrial stakeholders (consortia)
COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS (HORIZON EUROPE)
About: Pillar II: Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness covering following clusters: health; culture, creativity and inclusive society; civil security for society; digital, industry and space; climate, energy and mobility; food, bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture and environment
Funding: research (and innovation) grants of up to several million EUR
Target group: any legal organisation, incl. startups, scaleups, SME (consortia: at least three eligible entities from at least three Member States or associated countries)
CASCADE FUNDING
About: Financial Support for Third Parties (FSTP), a mechanism to distribute public funding to assist startups, scaleups, SME and/or mid-caps, in the uptake or development of (digital) innovation
Funding: €20-250K
Target group: startups, scaleups, SME and/or mid-caps, researchers (single partner or consortia)
EUROSTARS
About: Funding programme for SMEs wishing to collaborate on R&D projects that create innovative products, processes or services for commercialisation
Funding: the maximum funding amount is a grant of 450,000 euro per project (Slovakia)
Target group: consortia of min. 2 innovative SMEs (incl. startups ) with possible participation of research organisation(s)
EIT: EUROPEAN INSTITUTE OF INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY
About: Agency of the European Union established in 2008 to strengthen Europe’s ability to innovate with Innovation Communities (KIC) in 9 areas: climate, digital, food, health, energy, manufacturing, raw materials, urban mobility and culture & creativity
Funding: entrepreneurial education, business creation, innovation projects, regional innovation, global outreach and citizen engagement activities (different conditions in respective KIC)
EUROPEAN DIGITAL INNOVATION HUBS (EDIH)
About: providing access to technical expertise and experimentation as well as the possibility to ‘test before invest’, EDIHs help companies improve business/production processes, products, or services using digital technologies
Funding: current phase of DIHs is providing funding, while new generation of EDIHs (starting from 2023) is mostly focused on providing subsidized services to SMEs
Target group: mainly SMEs
DIGITAL EUROPE PROGRAMME (DEP)
About: EU funding programme focused on bringing digital technology to businesses, citizens and public administrations
Funding: funding to projects in 5 key capacity areas: supercomputing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, advanced digital skills, and ensuring a wide use of digital technologies across the economy and society, including through Digital Innovation Hubs
Target group: (consortia: at least three eligible entities from at least three Member States or associated countries)
INNOVATION FUND FOR CLIMATE ACTION
About: contributes to greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction by supporting projects like carbon capture and storage, innovative low carbon technologies, generation of renewable energy and energy storage
Funding: ‘Large scale’ are projects with a capital expenditure above EUR 7.5 million. ‘Small scale’ are projects with total capital costs below EUR 7.5 million.
LIFE PROGRAMME
About: funding for nature and biodiversity, circular economy and quality of life, climate change mitigation and adaptation, clean energy transition
Funding: Standard Action Projects for circular economy and quality of life, nature and biodiversity, climate change mitigation and adaptation, Action Grants for clean energy transition, Strategic Integrated Projects and Strategic Nature Projects
Target group: any organisation; specific LIFE close to market projects for SMEs/ startups
EU4HEALTH
About: EU programme focused on improve and foster health, protect people, access to medicinal products, medical devices and crisis relevant products, and strengthen health systems
Funding: health systems’ digitalisation, reducing the number of antimicrobial resistant infections and improving vaccination (funding from 60% to 100% of the total eligible costs)
Target group: eligible legal entities from the Member States, third countries associated such as health organisations, non governmental organisations (NGOs), the private sector and other eligible legal entities
EU SPACE PROGRAMME
About: EU Space Programme consists of several flagship programmes : Copernicus, Galileo, EGNOS
Funding: for services and applications based on Earth observation and Satellite Systems (from atmospheric monitoring and precision farming to safer aviation and automated driving)
Target group: check flagship programmes for further details
CREATIVE EUROPE
About: EU flagship programme to support the culture and audiovisual sectors
Funding: for initiatives promoting and enhancing artistic and cultural cooperation at EU level; actions encouraging the competitiveness, innovation and sustainability of the EU audiovisual sector; and collaboration across the audiovisual and cultural sectors
Target group: cultural and creative organisations from EU Member States, as well as non EU countries
ERASMUS FOR YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS
About: provides aspiring European entrepreneurs with the skills necessary to start and/or successfully run a small business in Europe; new entrepreneurs gather and exchange knowledge and business ideas with an experienced entrepreneur
Funding: financial assistance to the new entrepreneur during his/her stay abroad
Target group: the programme encourages the participation of both: aspiring or new entrepreneurs and experienced entrepreneurs
ERASMUS+
About: EU programme for education, training, youth and sport
Funding: opportunities for organisations: learning mobility, innovation, support for policy reform, Jean Monnet, sport
Target group: organisations and individuals a comprehensive list of opportunities supported by the programme