The EIC Fund & Work Programme 2021 in a Nutshell
With the European Innovation Council Fund, in short EIC Fund, the EU allocates about EUR 3 billion for the creation of one of Europe’s biggest investment funds. In order to help companies for a better scale-up and commercialisation, the EU will in this frame become the direct shareholder in start-ups with breakthrough technologies.
Early-stage deep tech companies in the areas of health, sustainability and advanced manufacturing can benefit from this investment in the form of a combination of grants and equity stakes.
Being shareholder in a company, the EU intends to lower the investment risks of scientific breakthroughs, which will result in attracting other investors as well. By doing so, the EU ownership of a company is expected the range between 10 % and 25 %. [1]
In general, the European Innovation Council seeks to enhance the effective promotion of bridging research to deployment, providing the funding instruments of EIC Pathfinder, EIC Transition and EIC Accelerator.
This is the first work programme for the European Innovation Council (EIC). It builds on the EIC pilot phase (2018–20) and the advice from the EIC pilot Advisory Board. The EIC pilot phase was launched in 2018, incorporating existing instruments under the Horizon 2020 programme, in particular the SME instrument and Future & Emerging Technology (FET) programme. These funding schemes are now brought together in a single work programme to provide direct support to innovators throughout Europe. [2]
Read the full article by Bahman Morteza Etezadibehzadi here: The EIC Fund & Work Programme 2021 in a Nutshell and learn about the EIC funding instruments in detail.
