INNOWWIDE aims to bring European highly innovative SMEs to the forefront of international markets by prototyping and shaping a new and unique financial scheme (the “INNOWWIDE Call for proposals”) that will allow them to conduct Viability Assessment Projects (VAPs) in cooperation with local stakeholders, creating the conditions to increase the uptake of European innovative solutions in markets outside Europe. Two calls will be implemented with a total budget of 7,2M€, allowing to fund 120 VAPs (60k€/VAP), and targeting markets of developing countries, large emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China, Mexico) and developed countries with the same allocation for each of these three country categories. The strength of this initiative lies in: (1) the experience of project partners concerning calls for proposals design and management, having 8 European funding agencies among them; (2) a SME-centric approach, to be implemented thanks to the extensive access and links to the European SMEs that project partners have; and (3) an ambitious stakeholder mobilisation plan with a strong focus on third country players thanks to partners international network of delegations (130 offices abroad in 45 countries). Project impact will be evaluated following a holistic, multilevel assessment approach covering European and international dimensions, done at VAP and at call level, and providing information from qualitative and quantitative points of view. This valuable information will be used to draw R&I policy conclusions, that will be shared with relevant policy bodies through the creation and operation of the “INNOWWIDE Policy Working Group”.

The CoDEPlugin project (COnnecting the Dots – Embedding Plug-In within national innovation support schemes) aims to enhance the alignment of national and regional innovation programs with the European Innovation Council's (EIC) Plug-in scheme. This novelty under Horizon Europe, is designed to streamline the process for innovation-driven companies—startups and SMEs—to access support under the EIC Accelerator. However, many countries still face challenges in certifying their programs, resulting in unequal access to this European-level support. CoDEPlugin responds this issue by analyzing the gaps between national support programs and the Plug-in scheme's requirements. The project will conduct an in-depth assessment of the needs of startups and SMEs, the state of certified and uncertified programs, and the barriers hindering wider certification across the EU. The CoDEPlugin develops policy recommendations and practical guidelines to help innovation agencies design programs that align with Plug-in standards. Key activities include knowledge exchange among stakeholders, including Plug-in contact points, policymakers, and innovation agencies, and the creation of a Design Options Paper. It will provide actionable recommendations for aligning national programs with the Plug-in scheme and will be piloted to test its applicability. Fostering collaboration and sharing best practices lead to a more coherent and efficient European innovation support ecosystem. The CoDEPlugin consortium is well-represented by a diverse group of countries: strong innovators like FR, DE, moderate (IT, PT), which have successfully certified their programs. In contrast, Poland (emerging innovator), the largest of widening countries, ‘s not achieved certification. The consortium ensures a comprehensive analysis of the challenges and opportunities across stages of Plug-in implementation, providing a robust response to the needs of both well-established and underperforming innovation systems.

WHO: The proposal involves 40 National Funding Authorities and/or Agencies under the Umbrella of Eureka and is coordinated by the Eureka Secretariat in Brussels. Founded in 1985, Eureka is a global network, with 48 Member States plus the European Commission. It includes nearly all countries of the European continent as well as international members like Israel, Turkey, Korea, Canada, Singapore, South Africa, Argentina and Chile. The Consortium also benefits from the fact that is has successfully run the Eurostars 1 and 2 programs. WHAT: The proposed European Partnership on Innovative SMEs will comprise two main instruments (Eurostars 3 and Innowwide) as well as measures to connect to existing EU programs, initiatives and other European partnerships. EUROSTARS 3 (E*3) is an instrument that supports the international cooperation of SMEs in the field of non-military collaborative innovation projects. An E*3 project consortium must be composed of at least 2 independent entities from at least two participating countries and must be led by an innovative SME. The E*3 instrument benefits from accompanying measures that strengthen SMEs’ ability to access foreign markets like the INNOWWIDE instrument, which has already been piloted with the support of some Eureka network members in recent years. WHY: The biggest challenges for innovative SMEs are the access to international cooperation and to enter international markets as well the ability to receive funding. E*3 through its coordination of national innovation programs will in addition support the further development of a European Research Area. HOW: The Eureka Secretariat will organize two joint transnational calls per year for E*3 and one call per year for Innowwide. National Innovation Agencies actively support the implementation of E*3 via national funding and support measures as well as services to applicants and promotion of the program.

Only 5% of European start-ups scale-up and pursue the position of world tech leaders. The growth barriers are high for truly high-risk deep-tech innovators, the main target of EIC instruments. Deep-tech innovators struggle to get required capital at the different stages of their lifecycle. The EIC-ScalingUP is set to create a blueprint for the EIC deep-tech growth companies to successfully scale and accelerate their investments and partnerships. It will identify, engage, select and feature 50 EIC companies with ability to become world-scale companies, select up to 30 and guide their growth plan and ambitions and create the blueprint of the tailored ScalingUP services. The execution of the defined blueprint will support the growth and funding of the 30 companies and foster exposure and connections with target stakeholders and networks with the aim to impact the key growth fundamentals and to lead to a successful Series B/C round or acquisition value, thus validating the EIC-ScalingUP blueprint. It is expected that 500+ Euro Million will be raised by the supported companies and inspirational success stories of EIC deep-tech companies will be broadly promoted to establish the EIC-ScalingUP as a credential of honour among Investment & Innovation communities. All activities in the EIC-ScalingUP are carried out by a consortium of 4 partners with complementary expertise: Coordinator Tech Tour (Networking & matchmaking between innovative SMEs; investors, corporates and advisors), Bpifrance (the French public investment bank assists businesses across stages and sectors and finances them from the seed phase to transfer to stocks exchange listing through loans, guarantees and equity), Boston Consulting Group (a global management consulting company with a deep understanding of the Deep Tech ecosystem) and Deepwave Ventures.