EIC Accelerator popularity growing with implementation back on track

An impressive 20 grants have been awarded to companies by the European Commission with each one selected for blended finance under the EIC Accelerator. An additional seven are expected to follow before the end of the month.

The good news is, looking at the strength of applications for the EIC Accelerator in the June 2022 cut-off, it’s clear that the popularity of the EIC Accelerator is gaining momentum. The EIC Board has also now published a revised set of Strategic Goals and Key Performance Indicators for EIC show how operational excellence will be maintained. This reflects the need to speed up the implementation of the funding, again due to its increasing popularity.

EIC Accelerator is a game changer for SMEs in particular

The EIC Accelerator programme provides a broad spectrum of grants, equity investments and blended finance which has attracted start-ups and SMEs since it was launched in March 2021. However, due to the need of the EIC Fund restructuring under the provisions of the Horizon Europe legislation, the EIC Accelerator scheme experienced delays in the signature of grant and investment agreements for companies selected in 2021.

After the first equity investment announcement on the 14th June 2022, further investments will follow once the current restructuring of the EIC Fund is complete. There is also set to be a new external fund manager who will be appointed in the coming weeks.

All delayed grant decisions for companies that requested blended finance from the 2021 cut-offs are now expected to be taken by the end of summer.

Strong level of applications for EIC Accelerator scheme under the June 2022 cut-off

Prior to the 15^th June cut-off, the European Innovation Council received 986 full applications from start-ups and SMEs for the EIC Accelerator. This again shows the relevance and popularity of the scheme. Furthermore, latest data shows:

• 74% of applications submitted requests for funding under the EIC Accelerator Open. Blended finance continues to be in high demand.
• 638 companies (65% of total applicants) requested grants combined with equity investments.
• 158 companies asked for grants only and 190 companies applied for grants first, with a possibility of equity investments at a later stage.
• 5% of the total proposals were submitted by companies with female CEOs. The applicants come from 36 different countries, with the highest number of participants coming from Germany (110), Israel (87), Italy (85) and Spain (81). The number of applications from widening countries is increasing, with Poland being a particularly notable one at 29.

Proposals are now being evaluated by independent experts. Successful companies will then be invited to pitch in front of a jury of investors and business experts in September. Final winners will then be decided in October.

See the whole article on the European Innovation Council website.

Could your business benefit from an R&D grant?

The EIC Accelerator is just one of a huge number of R&D grants on offer to innovative companies in Ireland. But the key is in knowing exactly what funding is available, as well as eligibility and how to apply.

This is why many Irish companies engaging in commercially viable, disruptive innovation use the services of R&D grants specialists like Myriad Associates.

Having been in business over 10 years, our grants and funding experts know exactly what funding rounds are available and will spend time getting to know your organisation and your project. This means we can ascertain early on exactly which type of funding would suit, and how much your project could be awarded.

We’ll then put together a grant funding application that’s constructed to give your project the best chance of winning. Having already secured millions in R&D grant funding, we know what works (and what doesn’t).

So why leave your grant funding application to chance?

Get in touch with our team on +353 1 566 2001 or send us a message. With millions of euros of funding available, this is chance to help your cutting-edge new innovation fly.