The pilot phase of the European Innovation Council (EIC), launched by the European Commission (EC) in 2017, introduced open competitions and face-to-face interviews to identify and fund Europe’s innovative start-ups and SMEs. Since then, 1276 innovative projects have received funding totaling over €730 million. This March , the EC announced that it was allocating over €2 billion in funding for 2019-2020.

On July 24, EIC representatives organized an "EIC Roadshow" at the Ministry of Science and Education of Ukraine that included an introduction to the EIC, a panel discussion among Ukrainian and EC stakeholders, as well as a presentation on the ways to receive funds from the EIC.

“Today we took the first important step: we informed representatives of business, startups, scientific research institutes and universities of Ukraine about the start and opportunities for cooperation within the framework of the new program of the European Innovation Council. We hope that this cooperation will grow and strengthen,” said Stéphane Ouaki, head of unit for Financial Instruments in DG Research and Innovation at the European Commission.

The project brings together parts of the Horizon 2020 program and incorporates new tools:

• Pathfinder – grants for radically new future technologies. The total budget is around €660 million for 2019-2020.
• Accelerator funding – financing for innovative startups. The total budget is more than €1.3 billion for 2019-2020.
• Private investments (VC, Invest EU).

The EIC pilot will also provide coaching and mentoring and a database will be created of projects and potential investors.

Photo source: Ministry of Science and Education of Ukraine