Under Horizon Europe, the EIC support goes far beyond funding and it aims at accelerating EIC innovations and growth of top deep tech companies. To leverage further EIC investments, as EIC supported researcher, innovator or entrepreneur you will be provided with access to a range of tailor-made EIC Business Acceleration Services.

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

The EIC are 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 and peers

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

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 and companies and their innovations.

Such services provided by professional service providers and 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 and accelerators.

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

The Business Acceleration Services facilitate cooperation and 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. 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 process involves a publication about the service on the EIC Community, an application by interested EIC company or project and depending on the type of service, a pre-selection by business partners/experts can be applied.

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 and 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. 

The European Innovation Council is open for new collaborations with the largest and most innovative Corporations in Europe. Check the Corporate Partnership Programme Call

• EIC ePitching with Investors: Semiconductors and Quantum Computing, 08 June 2021, online
• EIC ePitching to Procurers: BME, 08-09 June 2021, online
• EIC ePitching to Procurers: Wiener Linien, 09 June 2021, online
• EIC Accelerator Coordinators Day, 15-16 June 2021, online
• EIC Overaseas Trade Fairs 2.0 Launching Event, 17 June 2021, online
• EIC Corporate Day with AB InBev, 24-25 June 2021, online
• EIC Corporate Day with Deutsche Bahn, 29 June 2021, online
• EIC GHG Webinar: Your journey towards an innovative low-carbon strategy, 02 July 2021, online
• EIC Corporate Day with INDRA, 06-07 July 2021, online
• EIC GHG Webinar: Discover the GHG tool, 16 July 2021, online
• EIC ePitching with Procurers: No-Fear, 22 July 2021, online
• EIC Summer School, 23-30 July 2021, online
• EIC ePitching with Investors: Deeptech, 23 September 2021, online 
• EIC Corporate Day with Merck, 30 September 2021, online
• EIC GHG: Co-creation with CEPI, September 2021, online
• EIC GHG: Co-creation with SUEZ, Q3 2021, online
• EIC GHG: Co-creation with Stara Zagora region (BG), Q3 2021, online
• EIC Procurers Day with European Open Science Cloud, Q3 2021, online
• EIC Investor Day on the EU Green Deal, 18 November 2021, online

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

Find all the answers on the Business Acceleration Services in the FAQ section